{"id":1041,"date":"2021-08-11T12:28:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T12:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crp.trb.org\/uat\/acrp0358\/?page_id=1041"},"modified":"2021-08-11T12:28:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T12:28:01","slug":"how-has-regional-economic-activity-changed-over-time","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/crp.trb.org\/acrpwebresource12\/understanding-air-service-and-regional-economic-activity\/how-has-regional-economic-activity-changed-over-time\/","title":{"rendered":"How Has Regional Economic Activity Changed Over Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How Has Regional Economic Activity Changed Over Time?<\/h1>\n\n\n
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Airports\u2019 contribution to regional economic growth can only be estimated relative to measurable changes in the regional economy. How has the population changed over time? How has the structure of the regional economy changed? On a year-to-year basis, the scale and extent of socioeconomic changes can be difficult to discern. But over time, trends emerge that reveal significant structural changes in the economy and factors that drive the demand for air transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n

This section reveals key elements of how the country, states, and regions have changed in measures that are relevant to air service.<\/p>\n\n\n

Population and Metropolitan Statistical Areas<\/h2>\n\n\n

Between 2000 and 2019, the total U.S. population slowly rose from 282 million to 328 million, an increase of 46 million (16 percent). That growth reflects a compound annual rate of growth of less than 1 percent. Over the same period, the extent of urbanization\u2014the percentage of the total population that lives in urban areas\u2014rose slightly, from 79 to 82 percent. According to the Census Bureau, only four states\u2014Maine, Mississippi, Vermont, and West Virginia\u2014have more people who live in rural areas than urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n

Urban areas are territories with a population of at least 2,500 people, at least 1,500 of which reside outside institutional group quarters (e.g., hospitals or prisons). The Census Bureau identifies two types of urban areas:<\/p>\n\n\n