MINOT, N.D. (AP) - Some North Dakota cities near the oil patch are seeing a drop in residents as the state’s overall population continues to rise.
Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday show Minot’s population of more than 48,700 in 2016 fell by nearly 800 residents from the previous year. That’s nearly 1.6 percent of the city’s population.
The estimated population is still up 19.2 percent from April 2010, state census director Kevin Iverson told the Minot Daily News (https://bit.ly/2rV30AR ).
“It’s kind of good news, bad news. We are still a lot further ahead than we were in 2010,” Iverson said.
Iverson said the drop mostly is due to young, adult males moving as job and wage situations change because of slower activity in the oil fields.
Last year, Williston, Watford City and Stanley also saw population declines. Tioga was the city in the state that declined the most, losing 6.2 percent of its population.
Drake McClelland, Tioga City Commission president, said that decline was also due to oil-field workers.
“We notice our sales taxes have definitely gone down,” McClelland said.
North Dakota saw the most growth in and around Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks. Overall, North Dakota’s estimated 2016 population grew slightly to 757,952.
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Information from: Minot Daily News, https://www.minotdailynews.com
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