Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau documents what many Twin Lakes Area business leaders have been discussing–Baxter County’s population is no longer growing.
From 2000 to 2010, census data indicate the county’s population increased over 8 percent, from 38,386 residents to 41,513. But during the next seven years the trend this area had grown accustomed to would reverse. The latest census estimates reveal Baxter County’s population fell .4 of a percent from 2010 to 2017.
Data from counties contiguous to Baxter for the same period from 2010 to 2017 show a decline of 1.3 percent for Marion, 1.5 percent for Fulton and .1 percent for Izard, while Stone had an increase of 1.1 percent.
Lang Zimmerman of Mountain Home, who serves as one of 16 governor-appointed members of the Arkansas Economic Development Council, says Baxter County’s population current trend is unheard of.
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Zimmerman says he recently spoke at an economic development summit in Fulton County on the challenges of retaining young people.
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Jeff Pipkin, Executive Director of the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce, says recruiting retirees to the area is also challenging.
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Pipkin says the challenge of retaining younger area residents is both a need for higher paying jobs and amenities appealing to this age group.
In a follow-up report, Zimmerman and Pipkin weigh in on efforts to retain and recruit people to the Twin Lakes Area.
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