Census report shows more left Savannah area than moved to it (Columbus: 2014, rent)

[Airforceguy]

I still find this report hard to believe, granted it was from 2007-2011. Even still, the Savannah area is one of the fastest growing in the state.

Census report shows more left Savannah area than moved to it | savannahnow.com

[Padgett2]

Don't overlook the fact that more and more people are moving into the nearby counties and into SC. Chatham County is full to the point of being crowded in places.

I wonder how they determine where the Chatham County area starts and stops

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Airforceguy

I still find this report hard to believe, granted it was from 2007-2011. Even still, the Savannah area is one of the fastest growing in the state.

Census report shows more left Savannah area than moved to it | savannahnow.com

Agreed. This story is full of questions and very sloppily reported. The population figure for Chatham County cited in a large front-page graphic in Sunday's paper is almost 10,000 less than the official 2010 Census count, and 20,000 less than the 2012 Census estimate.

The story clearly implies that more people are moving OUT of Chatham County than are moving IN, which is absolutely 100 percent false.

[CoastalGAGuy]

Sounds pretty much totally wrong to me. Check the Google Public Data information, and you'll see population of Chatham County has done nothing but grow since 1975, and even more steeply in recent years.
Population in the U.S. - Google Public Data Explorer

While the data only tracks through July of 2012 as of today, it would be a startling change for things to have turned around so rapidly since then.

[ellie]

I don't know... I know of a number of firms that opened branches in Savannah in early 2000 that later closed when the recession hit. Employees scattered, many going back to where they came from.

Things are moving forward again. I've seen it in a number of companies I'm associated with.

It's not an ego thing, this population oscillation, just simple statistics. Y'all are too emotionally invested in it.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by ellie

I don't know... I know of a number of firms that opened branches in Savannah in early 2000 that later closed when the recession hit. Employees scattered, many going back to where they came from.

Things are moving forward again. I've seen it in a number of companies I'm associated with.

It's not an ego thing, this population oscillation, just simple statistics. Y'all are too emotionally invested in it.

My "ego" thing is simply this: As a journalist, I recognize that this was a very shoddy piece of journalism -- poorly written AND misinterpretation of data. And I'm not alone: Several people I've spoken with say they couldn't make sense of it. In an email conversation with Editor Susan Catron yesterday, she said the reporter needed to address more details and the paper should have had more eyes on the story.

[CoastalGAGuy]

How is Google's public data anything but pure statistics?

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

My "ego" thing is simply this: As a journalist, I recognize that this was a very shoddy piece of journalism -- poorly written AND misinterpretation of data. And I'm not alone: Several people I've spoken with say they couldn't make sense of it. In an email conversation with Editor Susan Catron yesterday, she said the reporter needed to address more details and the paper should have had more eyes on the story.

Newsboy! Welcome back, my friend!

Yes, you're absolutely right about this piece. It's a "piece" of trash. LOL
Ellie, nobody is emotionally involved in this, it's just false information on the writer's part.
Besides, how can Chatham be losing population when Pooler is booming and growing so rapidly?
It is a much more believable story to say the City of Savannah is losing population because that has been the case in the recent past, but not even Savannah is losing anymore, mainly due to growth within the city limits near Pooler.

Shame on SMN for letting this slip between their fingers. They've been slipping a lot.

[masonbauknight]

Folks, you need to read the SMN article more carefully: "The data, released earlier this month by the U.S. Census Bureau, were collected over a five-year period by the American Community Survey."

The American Community Survey/ACS "stats" are not -- repeat, NOT -- US Census population stats. The ACS is a small sampling survey that seeks to identify social developments and trends in the US for a given population area; it covers everything from language spoken at home, marital status, health status including HIV, racial and ethnic mobility, etc. I was in an ACS survey here in New York last year that covered everything from my income and monthly rent to knowledge of general health issues. The Savannah Morning News really are boneheads (this is the operative word) for putting an ACS study at the top of any article and identifying it as "Census figures." Worse, it covers the period 2007-2011. The only Census "figures" one need be concerned with are (1) the official US Census every 10 years, and (2) the yearly US Census estimates, which have become pretty predictive so far of Savannah's actual population growth. Note that the actual 2010 Census showed that US Census had actually underestimated Savannah, Chatham, and Savannah metro in its recent estimates.

Bottom line: Savannah city (pop. 142,000 in the 2012 estimate), Chatham (276,000 in the 2012 est.), and Savannah metro (361,000 in 2012) are all among the fastest-growing areas in the state since 2010. Columbus is the only 2nd-tier city doing better since the 2010 Census, and it's doing only marginally better than Savannah.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

Folks, you need to read the SMN article more carefully: "The data, released earlier this month by the U.S. Census Bureau, were collected over a five-year period by the American Community Survey."

The American Community Survey/ACS "stats" are not -- repeat, NOT -- US Census population stats. The ACS is a small sampling survey that seeks to identify social developments and trends in the US for a given population area; it covers everything from language spoken at home, marital status, health status including HIV, racial and ethnic mobility, etc. I was in an ACS survey here in New York last year that covered everything from my income and monthly rent to knowledge of general health issues. The Savannah Morning News really are boneheads (this is the operative word) for putting an ACS study at the top of any article and identifying it as "Census figures." Worse, it covers the period 2007-2011. The only Census "figures" one need be concerned with are (1) the official US Census every 10 years, and (2) the yearly US Census estimates, which have become pretty predictive so far of Savannah's actual population growth. Note that the actual 2010 Census showed that US Census had actually underestimated Savannah, Chatham, and Savannah metro in its recent estimates.

Bottom line: Savannah city (pop. 142,000 in the 2012 estimate), Chatham (276,000 in the 2012 est.), and Savannah metro (361,000 in 2012) are all among the fastest-growing areas in the state since 2010. Columbus is the only 2nd-tier city doing better since the 2010 Census, and it's doing only marginally better than Savannah.

Well, that was the point and the reason for all the outrage. The SMN took "estimates" provided by a "public sampling" with a significant margin of error to create a sensationalized front-page story that simply isn't true. Worse, despite being told by various sources that their interpretation of the data was in error (including a scathing critique by the Director of Data for the Center of Public Integrity in Washington DC) the newspaper has yet to even acknowledge their mistake, much less correct or retract it.

The Savannah Morning News has sunk to new depths of unprofessionalism and just plan lousy journalism. It's a true shame that a city as dynamic and wonderful as Savannah has such a sorry excuse for a newspaper. And this comes from someone who once worked there and was proud of the quality product we at one time delivered to Savannah readers.