Two approaches to county population projections

Conclusion

It should be emphasized that the two approaches were used in a completely independent fashion. The authors are highly gratified at the similarity of the aggregate statewide projections and those for the Denver area. It must be conceded that wide differences in county level projections may be hidden and mutually offsetting in the statewide and SMSA figures. In most cases these divergences can be satisfactorily explained in terms of the alternative assumptions employed in each method, and the policy maker may choose the result which flows from the method employing the most defensible assumptions. Population projections are becoming an increasingly common concern of public officials and we would recommend the use of independent alternative procedures to provide a necessary reciprocal check on the results.