The United States Census today released 2020 census date that indicates population growth in the Great Falls MSA (Cascade County) of 3,087 people from 2010 to 2020.
The county population grew from an estimated 81,327 on April 1, 2010 to an estimated 84,414 on April 1, 2020, a growth rate of 3.8%.
The City of Great Falls itself grew by 1,937 people, a 3.3% growth rate. City population increased from an estimated 58,505 on April 1, 2010 to an estimated 60,442 on April 1, 2020.
Based on a Population Growth Economic Impact study we commissioned several years ago, the population growth in the Great Falls MSA generates $57 million in economic impact within the county every year, including $33 million in direct local spending by the new residents (figures in 2016 dollars). The population growth alone supports 525 jobs.
We still have a ways to go. Cascade County's peak population was 86,600 in 1978, about 2,200 people more than the new 2020 estimate. The City had an estimated population of 60,691 in 1970. I don't have the data to know what the estimate was in 1978.
We're excited about this growth!
Brett