City’s Population Has Steadily Declined Since 1980 Census
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The population in the City of Water Valley peaked in 1980 with 4,147 people. In 2020, the population had dipped to 3,380.
WATER VALLEY – When a new mayor takes office following the special election in Water Valley, one of the challenges ahead not often discussed will be reversing a 40-year trend of declining population in the city.
According to the 1980 census, the city’s population was at a 60-year high with 4,146 people. Ten years later, the 1990 census showed a 12.9 percent decrease as the population dipped to 3,610. The next 10 years would remain flat, as census data showed a 1.9 percent growth to 3,677.
For the next 20 years the population would continue to decline, dropping 7.8 percent to 3,392 from 2000 to 2010 and dipping another four-tenths of a percent to 3,380 from 2010 to 2020.
From census data sources, a similar loss of population trend is noted in other small cities across the state. For example, Hazlehurst with a population of 4,437 in 1980, decreased 18 percent over a 40 year-span to 3,293 people in 2020. Baldwyn had a population of 3,427 in 1980. By 2020, the population decreased 10 percent to 3,071.
Houston was an exception, as the city had a population of 3,745 in 1980. Forty years later, in 2020, the population was 3,797, a 1.4 percent increase.
The challenge to reverse the declining population is also evident when evaluating sales tax collections in the city since 2003. Sales tax is a strong indicator of the local economic pulse and accounts for approximately 15 percent of the city’s revenue annually. The money comes monthly as the Mississippi Department of Revenue (DOR) sends a sales tax diversion check for the city’s share of sales tax collected by businesses in Water Valley. The city receives approximately 18 percent of the seven percent collected inside the corporate limits.
According to DOR statistics, the city’s sales tax diversion revenue has not outpaced inflation since 2003, the earliest annual fiscal figures available on the state agency’s website. According to DOR figures, the city received $418,644.97 for Fiscal Year 2003 ending June 30, 2003. For Fiscal Year 2023, DOR reported that the city’s sale tax diversion received was $643,889, a 54 percent increase from 2003. During the same time span, inflation increased almost 66 percent according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic’s CPI Inflation Calculator.
The number of graduating seniors from Water Valley High School during the last 11 years has also remained flat. In 2013, 65 seniors received diplomas. After a two year spike with 83 seniors in 2016 and 80 in 2017, the number of graduates declined to 52 in 2018. The number of graduates during the last three years was 52 in 2021, 62 in 2022 and 69 in 2023.
