New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau underscore what residents of Northwest Arkansas already know: The region just keeps growing.
Northwest Arkansas is among the fastest-growing areas in the country, ranking 25th out of 381 defined metropolitan statistical areas.
Such statistics matter to business and industry trying to decide where to locate or expand. And they matter, of course, to state and local decision-makers responsible for preparing for not just the growth that has happened but also for the growth to come.
Those numbers represent real people who need, or will need, jobs and roads and every other manner of services. That demand in turn brings greater economic activity and the need for governmental response from the federal, state and local levels.
The local statistical "area" officially includes Benton, Washington and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County in Missouri, where their collective growth is up more than 10 percent over a five-year period (2010 through 2015). Notably, the national average was 3.9 percent.
This region's growth rate in those years was well above statewide population growth (1.9 percent) in the same time frame and greater than any of the other metropolitan areas in Arkansas, including the Central Arkansas area that includes Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway.
The collective population in that region remains much greater than in Northwest Arkansas. The 2015 population there was 731,612, compared to 513,559 then in Northwest Arkansas.
Those shifting numbers, including the growth of this region compared to Central Arkansas, are forcing greater attention on the region from both public and private sectors.
Northwest Arkansas' sustained growth over time has resulted, for example, in increased representation in the state Legislature. The 100 House and 35 Senate districts are apportioned based on population.
Even an incremental gain in representation, which occurs decennially, arguably impacts state-level decision-making that should result in some favor to Northwest Arkansas.
As for the private sector, success breeds success. Homegrown companies of national significance -- Walmart, Tyson, J.B. Hunt -- keep growing and their example continues to attract more.
"The reason we are having that consistent population growth is because of all the opportunities in job growth," explained Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
She also noted the reinvestment in Northwest Arkansas by the families behind the big companies to make Northwest Arkansas "an attractive place to be."
That strategy was also on display recently as the Northwest Arkansas Council convened a Health Care Summit in Rogers last week.
The council itself is part and parcel of a long-term reinvestment strategy. The private, nonprofit organization was created more than 20 years ago by Sam Walton and other area business and civic leaders to identify and work on fulfilling major goals for the region.
Name any significant development in the region in recent decades and these people were involved in its realization.
Last week, the focus was health care as the council brought together leaders from the industry, which is experiencing a shortage of medical workers.
As Mark Simmons, chairman of Simmons Foods and the council's current co-chairman said, it will facilitate the group as it defines its goals.
Increasing the region's health care offerings is among the economic development opportunities the council identified several years ago.
Meeting that industry's challenges, including educating and recruiting health care workers, is a natural fit.
Commentary on 04/10/2016