Implications of Demographic Changes for Future Planning

 

Forsyth County Selected Demographics	Hispanic	African-American	White	Asian	Overall
1990 Percent of Forsyth County Population	0.8%	24.8%	73.6%	0.6%
2010 Percent of Forsyth County Population	11.9%	25.5%	58.7%	1.8%
1990-2010 Percent of Forsyth County Population Growth	46.8%	27.9%	12.1%	5.6%
2009 Median Age	24.1	33.4	42.1	33.6	37.1
2000-2009 Pre-Seniors Growth (55-64 years old)	133.3%	53.6%	34.8%	159%	41.1%
2009 Median Household Income	$32,240	$33,502	$55,492	$64,819	$47,438
2009 Percent Owner-Occupied Housing	35%	47.5%	77.4%	54.3%	66.9%
2009 Percent with High School Degree	52.4%	85.2%	90.2%	92.1%	86.3%
2009 Percent with Bachelor's Degree	12.5%	21.7%	35.2%	61.2%	30.8%
2009 Percent Living Below Poverty Level	36.2%	24.3%	7.4%	6.4%	14.6%

The Brookings Institute in State of Metropolitan America (2010) describes several major national demographic trends from the past decade that can be expected to continue into the next couple of decades including: Population Diversification, Aging Population and Income Polarization.

How does this impact planning? Let's start here:

• Increasing diversity introduces needs for more diverse residential options with better accessibility to jobs
• Aging population will demand more walkable, mixed use environments
• Dispersed, low-density residential pattern makes it difficult and costly to provide transportation options for older populations, single-parent households and households sensitive to gas prices
• Growth in knowledge-based economy creates demands for more vibrant urban living options for “Gen-X” workers
• We're starting to see new trends in net increase in college-educated workers, and more urban living