BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
LAKE BUTLER—Union County changes slowly when it changes, a matter of some pride to many citizens. The demographics section in the recent 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, produced by Union County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Kellie Rhoades and her staff, offers a clear picture of the changes in the statistics of the county over the past ten years.
In 2013 the population of the county was 15,258, rising to 15,550 in 2022. The high for this period was 15,799 in 2021, with the low at 14,940 in 2019. Part if this total population count is due to Department of Corrections inmates, who are usually counted as being residents of the county they are incarcerated in. In 2013 the inmate population was 4,769, dropping to a ten-year low of 3,866 in 2022. The high for the inmate population in the 10-year period was 5,212 in 2018. This leaves a population of 10,489 in 2013, up to a ten-year high of 11,684 in 2022.
Income per capita is another interesting subject because some figures include the inmate population. For the general population, income has increased from 26,079 in 2013 to 33,662 (the highest in the 10-year period) in 2022.
The median age of the population of the county has not changed a great deal over 10 years, reported at 39.8 years in 2013, down a bit to 39.3 years in 2022. The highest median age in the 10-year period was 46.7 in 2017 while the lowest was 39.2 in 2014.
School enrollment also shows minimal fluctuations, with a 2013 enrollment of 2,213, increasing to 2,395 in 2022. Both of these figures reflect the lowest and highest figures of the 10-year period, respectively.
The unemployment rate has lowered quite steadily over the 10-year period. In 2013 the rate was 6.3% and was less than half that in 2022 at 3.1%. The 10-year high came in 2015, with an unemployment rate of 4.9%.
In the last 10 years, the value of property in the county has increased steadily for residential properties. The total assessed value of taxable residential property in the county has climbed steadily from $210,396,331 in 2013 to $281,307,264 in 2022. Commercial and other property has also risen steadily from $147,924,315 in 2013 to $169,611,574 in 2022. The total taxable value of agricultural property has seen the greatest fluctuation, going from $35,651,085 in 2013 down to $35,569,502 in 2022 (down from $43,053,787 in 2021, the 10-year high). For the period being considered, the tax rate has not changed over the 10 years, holding at 10.5 mills.
The county government has done well at holding the line on the number of people it employs. In fact, the number of employees has decreased over the period with very few fluctuations. The general government, overseen by the Board of County Commissioners employed 65.4 full time employees in 2013, up to 73.25. The constitutional officers have seen a similar small increase in employees as well, going from 113.4 in 2013 to 122 in 2022. Building permits have risen markedly over the period, rising from 34 in 2014 (2013 figures not available) to 628 in 2020.
Is Union County growing? It is hard to tell because of the fluctuations and non-fluctuations in the numbers. New businesses start up and a few do well enough to stay. There are numerous improvements to county (and city) infrastructure, either completed or in process. There seems to be no real indicator of where Union County is going in the future. It seems that only time will tell the whole tale.
