The Kokomo Tribune carried a story on May 23rd about population in North Central Indiana. The subhead said, “North central area as a whole continues to lose people”. Migration has been toward larger cities and away from smaller communities and rural areas. Why? Jobs!
Kokomo seems to be bucking the tide for now. Since 2010, Kokomo has actually gained people; only 35, but a gain. The population of Kokomo is now 56,895 with the county at 82,760; a gain of 8 from 2010. The key here has been Chrysler. Period.
There are implications for even a steady state, let alone a decline in population. The biggest implication is that there is no need to expand construction of home or commercial building into surrounding agriculture land. The goal should be to use only land that has already been residential or commercial. Fertile farm land is precious and limited in size. North Central Indiana is blessed to have land that is virtually perfect for growing crops or pasturing animals. So, hopefully, our governing bodies will recognize this and prevent zoning changes that turn agriculture land into residential and commercial sprawl. There simply is no need.