The Northeast: America’s Gateway to the World
People Come and People Go
a lesson on Population
INTRODUCTION: In this lesson we are going to investigate population growth in the
northeastern part of the United States. As you probably know, population around the world is
growing, but not at an equal rate. In Africa and in the southwestern part of the United States
population is “booming.” In the Northeast it is growing, but at a much slower rate. Let’s analyze
this situation, using data from the Census Bureau.
PART ONE: What causes growth or decline of population? First, we look at natural causes.
Population is gained by ______________ and decreased by ________________.
Human causes of population growth have to do with movement or migration. The population of a
place (city or state or country) will increase if _________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
On the census data chart there are two columns for migration: domestic and international. What is
the difference between the two? ____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
You will now be assigned a state in the Northeast. ________________________________
You will be given a data chart with population statistics from April 1990 to July 1999. Your task is
to compute the net increase (or decrease) of population for your state.
On the FLOW CHART below, fill in the blanks with the correct data and complete the
calculations:
POPULATION
APRIL 1990
NET INTERNATIONAL
MIGRATION
BIRTHS
DEATHS
NET DOMESTIC
MIGRATION
NET
POPULATION
INCREASE
This means the population of _____________ in July 1999 was _________________________.
-2Percent of population increase is found by using this formula:
Substitute the data for your state into this formula and determine the percent of increase:
During this same time period, the population of the entire United States increased from about
248,791,000 in April 1990 to 272,691,000 in July 1999. Determine the percent of increase of our
nation’s population:
Students should now report their calculations to the rest of the class. How did the population
increase in the Northeast compare the entire country? _________________________________
How can you account for this difference? __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Did births outnumber deaths in the Northeast? ______
Was international migration a positive or negative number? ______
The largest negative population growth factor was ____________________________________.
PART TWO: Population Growth in New York State
As a whole, the state of New York grew in population during the 1990’s. But is it correct to say that
every region of the state saw an increase? _____ Your second data table has information about
population growth or decline in eleven regions of the state. First, you will determine the percent of
increase for each region, completing the chart.
Then, on a county map of New York, you will construct a choropleth map showing population
growth patterns. The map will be shaded from yellow to dark red. The darker the color the greater
the percent of population increase.
CONCLUSIONS: What pattern do you see about population growth and decline? ___________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What explanation can you give for this pattern? _______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
-3-
PART THREE: Historic population growth
We have shown that the Northeast has not grown much in recent times, and some areas have
actually lost population. This was not always the case, especially in the 1800’s. The city of
Rochester, New York is a good example. You will be shown a line graph of Rochester’s population
from 1820 to 2000. You need to locate sections of the graph that show
rapid population growth: _________________________________________
slow population growth: _________________________________________
decline in population: ___________________________________________
What might have caused some of the population “booms” in the past? _____________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What are the main causes of decline? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Note that Greater Rochester is growing in population today, but not the City of Rochester itself.
How can you account for this difference? ____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
WRAP-UP PROBLEM:
The Census Bureau estimates that the population of the United States will increase by 8% between
1999 to 2009. Determined the predicted population of the entire country in 2009.
Show your work.
CENSUS DATA TABLES
NORTHEASTERN STATES
STATE
Maine
POP. 4 / 90
BIRTHS
DEATHS
NET INTER.
NET
MIGRATION DOMESTIC
MIGRATION
1,227,928
137,791
107,664
3895
– 7347
New
1,109,252
Hampshire
142,027
83,680
6995
29,607
Vermont
562,758
67,101
44,797
4959
5615
Massachusetts
6,016,425
778,803
506,880
147,834
– 55,060
Connecticut 3,287,116
423,922
268,782
73,389
– 226,370
Rhode Island 1,003,464
125,103
89,187
16,339
–250,958
New Jersey 7,747,750
1,079,022
667,367
377,830
–378,495
Pennsylvania 11,882,842
1,438,566
1,163,384
114,753
–250,958
2,539,280
1,519,562
1,107,814
–1,888,936
New York
17,990,778
NEW YORK STATE
POPULATION DATA BY REGION
REGION
1990 POP.
2000 POP.
Adirondacks
440,000
446,000
Capital District
915,000
933,000
Catskills
161,000
170,000
Central NY
1,250,000
1,172,000
Finger Lakes
304, 000
308,000
Hudson Valley
2,019,000
2,168,000
Long Island
2,608,000
2,753,000
New York City
7,323,000
8,008,000
Greater Roch.
960,000
998,000
Southern Tier
456,000
440,000
1,560,000
1,550,000
Western NY
POP INCREASE
(DECREASE)
PERCENT
GROWTH