Suburban growth
Here are local 2010 population figures, and the growth rate from 2000.
The statewide growth rate was 18 percent.
Union County: 201,292; 63 percent.
Fairview: 3,324; 33 percent*.
Hemby Bridge: 1,520; 7 percent**.
Indian Trail: 33,518; 185 percent**.
Lake Park: 3,422; 63 percent.
Marshville: 2,402; 2 percent.
Marvin: 5,579; 437 percent.
Matthews: 27,198; 23 percent (Mecklenburg).
Mineral Springs: 2,639; 93 percent.
Mint Hill: 22,722; 46 percent** (Mecklenburg).
Monroe: 32,797; 25 percent.
Stallings: 13,831; 336 percent**.
Unionville: 5,929; 24 percent.
Waxhaw: 9,859; 276 percent.
Weddington: 9,459; 41 percent.
Wesley Chapel: 7,463; 193 percent.
Wingate: 3,491; 45 percent.
Notes:
* Fairview incorporated in 2002. The census counted its population in 2000 as a “census designated place;” the growth rate compares data for the town in 2010 with the designated place numbers of 2000.
** Growth rate calculated with numbers that followed an appeal of the 2000 Census count.
Source: Observer analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, N.C. Office of State Budget and Management.
Union County’s status as the state’s fastest-growing county over the past decade has been fueled in part by growth in its western region and also by an influx of Latinos, an Observer analysis of new census data shows.
As of the most recent census figures, Union County’s growth rate stood at 63 percent as its population broke the 200,000-mark.
Indian Trail claimed the mantle of the county’s most populous municipality, while other towns along the Mecklenburg-Union county line also continued to see robust growth. In fact, the Observer analysis found the 2010 combined population of Indian Trail, Stallings, Matthews and Mint Hill approached 100,000 people, representing an 85 percent growth rate over the past decade.
Indian Trail, which surged passed Monroe in population, nearly tripled its number of residents to 33,518 people.
“We’re glad to see the census validated what we’ve known all along,” Indian Trail Town Manager Joe Fivas said last week.
As a result of some annexations in the early part of the decade coupled with the emergence of many new subdivisions, the new ranking did not come as a surprise to Fivas.
Quality of life, good public schools and a low tax rate keep people coming to the town, Fivas said.
He’s also hopeful the census data will convince some real-estate brokers to give Indian Trail a second look. The town needs more restaurants, entertainment and hospitality options.
And while Fivas does not expect Indian Trail to maintain its blistering growth rate, he does expect growth to continue. The town’s comprehensive plan predicts a population of 60,000-80,000 in the next 20 years, he said.
In Monroe, city Planning Director Lisa Stiwinter said she was not surprised by the change in population ranking. Indian Trail’s proximity to Charlotte made the move almost inevitable, she said.
Stiwinter said she did not think the change would have an impact on development in Monroe. The way the economy is going now, she said, there’s not a lot of development going on anywhere in the area.
Union County’s growth rate reflected the overall health of the Charlotte metro area, said Bob Coats, the governor’s Census Bureau liaison. He did not anticipate a huge drop-off for the county in the coming years.
But like most places in the region, Union County has seen a significant slowdown in growth over the past couple of years as the recession deepened. County commissioners Chairman Jerry Simpson expects to see that trend continue, adding that a slower growth rate should lead to more manageable growth.
Other Union County highlights of the decennial census include:
Countywide, the number of Latinos nearly tripled, marking the largest Latino growth rate in the Charlotte region. Some 21,000 Latinos live in Union County, slightly more than 10 percent of the population.
Nearly 1 in 3 residents in Monroe is Latino. A decade ago, about 1 in 5 city residents were Latino.
The county’s white and black populations decreased slightly between 2000 and 2010. The county is 79 percent white, 12 percent black and nearly 2 percent Asian, with the rest Native American, Native Hawaiian or multiracial. (Hispanic/Latino is counted as an ethnicity, not a race.)
The number of county residents identifying themselves as multiracial tripled, and now stands at 3,871. The 2000 Census was the first time people were given the choice of checking a category as being of two or more races.
Marvin, Stallings, Waxhaw and Wesley Chapel, along with Indian Trail, all had triple-digit growth rates.
Union County grew at more than three times the rate of North Carolina.
While Union was the fastest growing of North Carolina’s 100 counties between 2000 and last year, it ranked fourth for its 1990-2000 growth rate.
Posted: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011
By Adam Bell
