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Latest estimate drops Hartington under 1,500
HARTINGTON — The most recent U.S. Census estimates show Hartington's population has dipped to its lowest level in over 100 years.
According to the 2023 Census estimates, Hartington's current population is 1,499.
The last time the city's population was below 1,500 was in 1920, when the official population count came in at 1,467.
The 2020 Census indicated the Cedar County seat community had 1,517 residents.
The city reached its peak in the early 1980s with a population of 1,730. Population declined in the mid and late 1980s because of the high interest rates and the Farm Crisis.
Hartington's current population makes it the 79th largest community in the state.
Cedar County's other communities also showed declines in the first three years of the decade.
Laurel's current population estimate is 948 — 27 less than the 2020 Census of 975.
The highest population ever recorded in Laurel was also in the 1980s at 1,021 people.
Randolph's 2023 population was estimated at 877, while 881 residents were recorded in the southern Cedar County community during the 2020 Census.
Randolph's all-time population high was recorded in the 1920s, when the city had 1,338 residents.
The 2023 population estimate for Coleridge is 515, while the 2020 Census showed 537 people in Coleridge.
Coleridge saw its largest population — 624—in 1920.
Wynot's 2023 population estimate was 216 — down two from the 2020 Census. The 1940 Census was Wynot's population peak as the report recorded 414 residents at that time. The 2023 report shows the Fordyce population at 133, which is unchangd from the 2020 report.
Fordyce also had its largest population in the 1940s when 202 people called it home.
The 2023 Census estimate also lists Cedar County's population at 8,262. This is about half of the population Cedar County had at its peak.
The county's highest population totals were recorded in the 1930s, when the Census figures showed 16,427 Cedar County residents.
