Early numbers from the 2020 United States Census show manageable growth in Seward County.
According to preliminary results released by the United States Census Bureau in August, the population in Seward County went from 16,750 in 2010 to 17,609 in 2020 for a 3.2% increase.
Jonathan Jank, Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership CEO and president, said the growth is favorable, as it allows the area to adapt to housing needs but still shows the county is on a positive trajectory.
“We build about 50 homes a year in Seward County and we're averaging 2.3 people per household over 10 years. There is some attrition but that's a natural growth,” he said. “There's a lot of good stuff going on around what's already being built and we want to add to it.”
Jank said Seward County was one of 24 counties in the state to grow in population since the last census and is in the top 10 for fastest growing counties. These trends, he said, reflect a focus on growing existing industries and welcoming new ones.
“The story that we can tell is similar to the last census, that we are a place that people want to live, people want to move to and people want to grow in,” he said. “We're fortunate we can tell that story. That should give confidence to a local employer that they can continue to grow and people will move here for jobs and also to businesses that we can pull talent that wants to live and grow here.”
He added that the numbers not only show the ability to grow businesses, but give the chance for families to grow as well.
“We have a lot to be proud of,” Jank said. “From a business community perspective, we have fantastic employers that create good jobs to support families and themselves. We realize we have something special here, and we're thankful for the owners and managers that help create these jobs. That's leading to a good quality of life.”
The City of Seward saw growth as well, rising from an estimated population of 6,964 in 2010 to 7,643 in 2020.
Much like the county, Seward City Administrator Greg Butcher said the rate of growth matches that availability of housing. He said a past comprehensive study showed the city could comfortably support about 1% growth of population over the course of 10 years, which the city nearly hit, according to preliminary census numbers.
“The trends are good,” he said. “The biggest thing we want is to see steady, controlled growth. If you're bursting at the seams...you try to chase it to make sure you have adequate housing, utilities and it puts a big burden on the school districts.
“But this is controlled. It's something we can work with and plan for and handle.
Seward Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Josh Fields said the district was pleased to see the results, as it typically means school enrollment will remain steady as well.
“We expect to be around (1%) when we look at our numbers,” he said. “We have classes bigger than others, but those are things we look at if we need to expand a building or something down the road. For us, it's watching the numbers and making sure we have the capacity to fit our students.”
Quick hits from the data for Seward County:
Population: 17,609
Population per square mile: 29.3
Housing units: 7,262
Median household income (2015-2019): $70,389
Per capita income last 12 months (2015-2019): $32,040
Person in poverty: 7.2%
Persons without health insurance: 6.7%
High school graduate or higher, percent of persons 25 years or older: 94%
Total employer establishments: 471
Total people employed: 5,783
To find more information on Seward's results or for other communities, visit census.gov.
