From projo.com
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Rhode Island news
5.25.2001
Elderly population holding steady, U.S. Census shows
• East Providence has also lost 3.3 percent of its total population over the last decade, due in part to an aging population, a low birth rate, and the fact that few people are moving here.
BY DOANE HULICK
Journal Staff Writer
EAST PROVIDENCE
-- The population here is going through a transition, with the concentration of elderly residents remaining high, but with the birth rate on the decline.
In fact, 18.9 percent of the total population is made up of people 65 and older, the same as in 1990, according to new figures released earlier this week from the U.S. Census Bureau.
That's higher than the statewide average of 14.5 percent, and may provide a clue as to why Rhode Island's fifth largest city has lost population since 1990.
For one thing, the numbers show that deaths outpaced births in East Providence for 7 of the 10 years from 1990 through 1999. In addition, the birth rates declined in the late 1990s.
Numbers produced by the state Department of Health and the city's Department of Planning and Urban Development support the census findings.
The city's population declined from 50,380 in 1990 to 48,688, a 3.3-percent decrease, according to the latest census data.
Diane M. Feather, the city's chief planner, said she is not surprised that the population declined, considering the large concentration of elderly residents, the higher death rate in that segment of the population, and the low birth rates.
"The population is going through a transition," she said.
Feather cites another possible reason for the decline in the city's total population.
She said there has been no dramatic increase in the number of people moving into the city, but by the same token, there has been no dramatic increase in the number of people leaving the city.
In fact, the population remained fairly stable and most of the decline results from deaths in the elderly segment of the population.
Although the population declined 3.3 percent, the percentage of people 65 and older remains the same from 1990 through 2000, according to the census figures.
The census data provides a portrait of the city and its people, with details about how old they are and about where they live and how they live together.
Feather pointed out that the size of the average household in East Providence declined slightly from 2.48 people per household in 1990 to 2.33 in 2000.
The size of the average household statewide is 2.47.
Feather said the decline in the person-per-household figure may be the result of more elderly residents living alone after their spouses die and an increasing number of people living alone for other reasons.
Families make up 62.6 percent of the city's 20,530 households; family households accounted for 67.6 percent of the total in 1990.
Single parents make up 12.7 percent of the households; in 1990, they represented 11 percent. Householders living alone represented 32.4 percent of the total. In 1990, it was 28.5 percent of the total.
The proportion of males and females remained the same as in 1990 -- 53.5 percent female and 46.5 percent male, which is slightly different than the state figures of 52 percent female and 48 percent male.
The total number of housing units increased from 20,808 in 1990 to 21,309 in 2000 -- an additional 501 units. Renter occupied housing units make up most of the increase.
New construction that was not "substantially" completed by April 1, 2000, was not included in the count.
The rental vacancy rate declined from 4.1 percent in 1990 to 2.5 percent in 2000.
Elderly population holding steady, U.S. Census shows
• East Providence has also lost 3.3 percent of its total population over the last decade, due in part to an aging population, a low birth rate, and the fact that few people are moving here.
BY DOANE HULICK
Journal Staff Writer
In fact, 18.9 percent of the total population is made up of people 65 and older, the same as in 1990, according to new figures released earlier this week from the U.S. Census Bureau.
That's higher than the statewide average of 14.5 percent, and may provide a clue as to why Rhode Island's fifth largest city has lost population since 1990.
For one thing, the numbers show that deaths outpaced births in East Providence for 7 of the 10 years from 1990 through 1999. In addition, the birth rates declined in the late 1990s.
Numbers produced by the state Department of Health and the city's Department of Planning and Urban Development support the census findings.
The city's population declined from 50,380 in 1990 to 48,688, a 3.3-percent decrease, according to the latest census data.
Diane M. Feather, the city's chief planner, said she is not surprised that the population declined, considering the large concentration of elderly residents, the higher death rate in that segment of the population, and the low birth rates.
"The population is going through a transition," she said.
Feather cites another possible reason for the decline in the city's total population.
She said there has been no dramatic increase in the number of people moving into the city, but by the same token, there has been no dramatic increase in the number of people leaving the city.
In fact, the population remained fairly stable and most of the decline results from deaths in the elderly segment of the population.
Although the population declined 3.3 percent, the percentage of people 65 and older remains the same from 1990 through 2000, according to the census figures.
The census data provides a portrait of the city and its people, with details about how old they are and about where they live and how they live together.
Feather pointed out that the size of the average household in East Providence declined slightly from 2.48 people per household in 1990 to 2.33 in 2000.
The size of the average household statewide is 2.47.
Feather said the decline in the person-per-household figure may be the result of more elderly residents living alone after their spouses die and an increasing number of people living alone for other reasons.
Families make up 62.6 percent of the city's 20,530 households; family households accounted for 67.6 percent of the total in 1990.
Single parents make up 12.7 percent of the households; in 1990, they represented 11 percent. Householders living alone represented 32.4 percent of the total. In 1990, it was 28.5 percent of the total.
The proportion of males and females remained the same as in 1990 -- 53.5 percent female and 46.5 percent male, which is slightly different than the state figures of 52 percent female and 48 percent male.
The total number of housing units increased from 20,808 in 1990 to 21,309 in 2000 -- an additional 501 units. Renter occupied housing units make up most of the increase.
New construction that was not "substantially" completed by April 1, 2000, was not included in the count.
The rental vacancy rate declined from 4.1 percent in 1990 to 2.5 percent in 2000.
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