COLUMBUS – Two years ago, area planners estimated that central Ohio’s population would grow by 500,000 people between 2010 and 2050.
Now, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission says the seven-county region could grow by 1 million.
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This year’s State of the Region report, to be released today, says new projections based on recent population shifts and building trends show the overall population in the region perhaps nearing 3 million in 34 years.
“When we looked at the results of the last five years, it’s pretty interesting and pretty stunning,” said William Murdock, the planning agency’s executive director. “The growth is happening faster than we thought.”
Between 2010 and 2015, the region added 115,000 people, including 20,000 children and 25,000 seniors.
“At a minimum, we are on track to add 500,000, with the possibility of adding upward of 1 million people by 2050,” according to the planning agency.
That would make the region the most populous in the state.
The data comes from insight2050, an effort launched two years ago by MORPC, regional economic development group Columbus 2020 and the Urban Land Institute Columbus to examine growth and development leading up to the midpoint of the 21st Century.
Murdock is concerned by data that shows that thirtysomethings are leaving the area in greater numbers than planners expected. He says those men and women between 30 and 39 seem to be leaving after they get some work experience under their belts but before they start families and buy homes.
Nevertheless, job growth in central Ohio, which has been leading the state since the end of the recession, is exceeding expectations with 122,000 new jobs added since 2010, Murdock said.