Census: Blytheville, county lose population

Both Blytheville and Mississippi County experienced significant drops in population in the last decade, according to 2010 Census numbers released Thursday by Census Bureau's Public Information Office.

Blytheville's population, as of the end date of the 2010 census, was 15,620. Of that number, 6,216 claimed race as white alone, 8,771 as black alone, 42 as American Indian or Alaska Native alone, 125 as Asian alone, and 227 of some other race -- with the remainder of the population claiming mixed etnicity.

In 2000, Blytheville's population was 18,272. The 2010 numbers relect a drop of 2,652 people, or 14.5 percent.

Mississippi County had a total population of 46,480 in the 2010 Census, which is down 10.6 percent from 2010 population, which was 51,979.

Other communities in the county also lost population. Osceola dropped from 8,875 residents in 2000 to 7,757 in 2010, a loss of 1,118 people (12.6 percent). Gosnell dropped from 3,968 to 3,548, a decline of 420 (10.6 percent).

Manila, however, actually gained population, growing from 3,055 in 2000 to 3,342 in 2010, a pick-up of 287 people (9.4 percent).

Because of the population shift, some redrawing of district lines within the county will have to be done this spring. Further and more detailed information about the city population has yet to be released, which will determine whether or not ward lines within the city will also have to be redrawn.

The racial breakdown for the state of Arkansas comes in at 77 percent white alone, 15.4 percent black alone, 0.8 percent American Indian or Alaska Native alone, 1.2 percent Asian alone, 0.2 percent Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, 3.4 percent some other race alone, and 2 percent two or more races. 6.4 percent of Arkansas residents claim Hispanic origin.

The 2010 Census will be used to redraw federal, state and local legislative districts under Public Law 94-171. Data is used by state officials to realign congressional and state legislative districts in their states, taking into account population shifts since the 2000 Census.

Data for Arkansas show that the five most populous incorporated places and their 2010 Census counts are Little Rock, 193,524; Fort Smith, 86,209;

Fayetteville, 73,580; Springdale, 69,797; and Jonesboro, 67,263. Little Rock grew by 5.7 percent since the 2000 Census. Fort Smith grew by 7.4 percent, Fayetteville grew by 26.8 percent, Springdale grew by 52.4 percent, and Jonesboro by 21.2 percent.

The largest county is Pulaski with a population of 382,748. Its population grew by 5.9 percent since 2000. The other counties in the top five include Benton, with a population of 221,339 (increase of 44.3 percent); Washington, 203,065 (increase of 28.8 percent); Sebastian, 125,744 (increase of 9.3 percent); and Faulkner, 113,237 (increase of 31.6 percent).

sharris@blythevillecourier.com