Economist Repudiates Mayor Ridenour's Population Claims
3.25.2025 / News / munciepostdemocrat.com
After his State of the City address, the Delaware County Democratic Party issued a response statement wishing that Ridenour had addressed more issues including road paving and abandoned/stalled city projects. Party chairman Andrew Dale added: “The condition of our roads is core to our quality of life. Maybe before annexing neighborhoods, adding new parks, or purchasing more property, without the benefit of public participation, we can create a better plan for our roads. Our roads are our Achilles heel.”
In recent weeks Ridenour has tried rejecting claims made by Dale and Harold Mason, not only regarding road paving but with an Op-ed in the Journal & Courtier and Muncie Business Journal on population growth. The mayor claimed that US Census data proved that Muncie in particular was doing well, despite a population increase happening throughout East Central Indiana, and cited “developments like Cityview 1 and 1, Riverbend Flats, White River Lofts, Washington Square, Storer Estates, and Southern Terrace” as the reason. He goes on, “I am certain that some naysayers will dispute the results for some reason or another. That’s life and just the way it is.”
Michael Hicks, a self-described conservative and New Keynesian economist at Ball State University, described Delaware County’s population growth in his last column as one of the worst in natural population loss. While Hicks pointed out improvements, including that less counties experienced population loss in 2024 compared to the 2010s, he also pointed out that 69.9% was from international migration.
Hicks also stated: “Still, any column about growth and decline needs to be honest about the future. Six of the 10 fastest-growing counties are in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Nine of the 10 fast-growing counties are urban, and nine of the 10 fastest-shrinking counties are rural.”
Ridenour: “But regardless of the naysayers, these population results are not internal estimates but instead, are from the US Census and easily confirmed. These numbers are from a third-party agency that specializes in this area of expertise (population and data).”