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Door County’s Population Grows 8.2%

Peninsula’s Population Exceeds 30,000 Residents for First Time

Door County gained 2,281 residents over the past 10 years during a decade when less than half the country’s 3,143 counties (47%) grew in population. 

Those numbers and other data were released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau from Census 2020, giving the country a first look at who was living in the United States as of April 1, 2020.

Those additional people living in Door County represent an increase of 

8.2% between 2010-2020 from 27,785 to 30,066. It’s the first time in history the peninsula’s population has crossed the 30,000-person threshold, according to historic census data. The 2020 number also reverses the 0.6% loss in population the county experienced between 2000 and 2010, when the peninsula went from 27,961 to 27,785 respectively.

The data release comes from the Census 2020 redistricting file and is used by states to redraw congressional, legislative and local district boundaries. This first wave of output shows demographic characteristics by state, county and city, including the most basic levels of race and ethnicity; population over 18 years; occupied and vacant housing units; and people living in group quarters like nursing homes, prisons, military barracks and college dorms.

There’s a lot more output to come, including deeper statistics on age, sex, race and ethnicity, and profiles on centers of population. That more comprehensive data is expected to be available by Sept. 30.

Drilling down even further, every county is divided into census tracts and those contain 1,200 – 8,000 people. Those tracts are divided into blocks and a block consists of 600 – 3,000 people. 

“There will be some good stuff when that comes along,” said MaryJo Webster, data editor at the StarTribune, during a Poytner presentation on the Census data.

It could be as late as January 2022, however, before that data comes along.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Door County

The diversity index measures the probability that two people chosen at random will be from different race and ethnicity groups. The chance of this happening in the United States in 2020 was 61.1%, versus 54.9% in 2010.

The most diverse state in the country is Hawaii (76%); the least diverse state is Maine (18%). These rankings have not changed from 2010, though both states grew more diverse from 2010’s 75.1% and 10.8%, respectively. 

Wisconsin is on the lower end of the diversity spectrum, with a 37% chance that two people chosen at random will be from a different race and ethnicity group. This is an increase of more than 10 percent over 2010, when the state’s diversity rating was 29.8%.

Door County remains far less diverse on average than either the state or the nation. The peninsula’s diversity index was 15.9% in 2020, and 91.5% of the population identified as ‘white alone, not Hispanic or Latino’ category. As low as this number remains, it’s a 75.7% increase in diversity over 2010, when Door County’s diversity rating was only 9.1%.

Census Apportionment

On April 26 of this year, the 2020 Census results were released that determined how the 435 seats in the U.S. House would be divided among the 50 states based upon the 2020 population counts. That data showed that Texas experienced the largest numeric increase between 2010 and 2020, followed by Florida, California, Georgia and Washington. Those five states accounted for nearly half of the total numeric population increase in the United States between 2010 and 2020.

Texas, however, was the only state to gain two Congressional seats. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon gained one seat. California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia all lost one seat. All other states remained the same, including Wisconsin, which retained its eight seats.

Counties, Municipalities Redistrict, Too

Receipt of the decennial census data triggers new congressional and state legislative district boundaries. Local governments, too, have the once-a-decade task of drawing new political boundaries. 

The Door County Board of Supervisors established its Ad Hoc Redistricting Committee in July in preparation for this obligation. Statutes guide the process, with final boundaries accomplished between Nov. 3-10, or before the notices are published for the spring election on Nov. 23. 

The state established an ideal timeline to get the local redistricting done. First, it would submit the census data to the county by Aug. 23. By Sept. 15, counties should have held a public hearing and adopted a tentative plan. That plan is then sent to local municipalities so they can adjust their ward boundaries if needed. The towns, villages and City of Sturgeon Bay must then transmit their plans back to the county, ideally by Oct. 18. The Sturgeon Bay Common Council must redistrict its aldermanic boundaries by ordinance at a regular meeting, with adoption of that plan accomplished by Nov. 10. The county would hold a public hearing on the final boundaries between Nov. 3-10.

UNITED STATES

Changes reflect differences between 2010 and 2020

U.S. as a whole: 331,449,281

Numeric change in population (2010-2020): 22,703,743 

Percent change in population (2010-2020): 7.4%

Housing units (2020): 140,498,736

Housing unit vacancy rate (2020): 9.7%

Percent change in housing units (2010-2020): 6.7%

WISCONSIN

Changes reflect differences between 2010 and 2020

Wisconsin population as a whole: 5,893,718

Numeric change in population: 206,732

Percent change in population: 3.6%

Ranking by population among all 50 states: 20th

Housing units: 2,727,726

Housing unit vacancy rate: 11%

Percent change in housing units: 3.9%

DOOR COUNTY

Changes reflect differences between 2010 and 2020

Door County Population as a whole: 30,066

Numeric change in population: 2,281

Percent change in population: 8.2%

Ranking by population among Wisconsin’s 72 counties: 44th

People per square mile: 62.4

Door County Historic Population

2020 – 30,066  = +8.2%

2010 – 27,785  =  -0.6%

2000 – 27, 961 = + 8.84%

1990 – 25,690  = + 2.6%

1980 – 25,029  = +24.48%

1970 – 20,106  =  -2.7%

1960 – 20,685

1950 – 20,870

1940 – 10,095

1930 – 18,182

1920 – 19,073

1910 – 18,711

1900 – 17,583

1890 – 15,682

1880 – 11,645

1870 –  4,919

1860 –  2,948