While the population in Jessamine County has risen by 7.8 percent overall since 2010, according to recently released population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 was the first time in six years that increase slowed down.

The Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program (PEP) releases several different data series over the course of each decade.

Each year, they utilize current data on births, deaths, and migration to calculate population change since the most recent decennial census, which was 2010. The next official census will be 2020. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s population estimates for 2016, Jessamine County has a population of 52,357. That’s 3,771 more residents than the 48,586 shown in the last census in 2010. Each year since 2010, that number has risen by at least 90 people until 2016. 

From 2010 to 2011, there was an increase of 383 people. From 2011 to 2012, an increase of 581 was recorded, while 2012 to 2013 showed an increase of 672 and 2013 to 2014 showed an increase of 786. 

The county’s population saw its largest increase with 928 more residents in 2015 than 2014. However, from 2015 to 2016, that increase slowed down to 421. 

Judge Executive David West attributes the slowing of growth to the slowed construction of new subdivisions. 

“We just got filled up,” West said. 

He said he believes the increase in the population will pick up again next year because of several new developments occurring within the City of Nicholasville, as well as in the county. 

“I think we’ll have more neighbors,” West said. 

In turn, more people coming into Jessamine County will create more of a demand for services, and those services will lead to more businesses and jobs. 

“The more people you have, the more services are required,” West said. 

In addition, members of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® (LBAR) reported this week that 129 residential real estate properties have been sold in Jessamine County for a total of $27,250,288 in the first quarter of 2017. Real estate sales continue to be a positive driving force in the county’s economy.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, residential sales saw no percentage of change between the first quarters of 2017 and of 2016, with 129 sales reported in both. However, the median sales price increased eight percent from $150,000 in first quarter 2016 to $161,900 in the first quarter in 2017. In addition, the average days on the market decreased by 39 percent from 93 days in first quarter 2016 to 57 days in first quarter 2017.

Jessamine County saw a decrease of nine percent in residential sales in March of last year and March of 2017, at 58 sales and 53 sales respectively. Pending sales increased from 82 in March of 2016 to 85 pending sales reported in March of 2017. The median sales price had decreased from $168,000 in March of last year to $150,000 in March of 2017. On the other hand, there was no reported percentage of change in new listings, with 99 new listings in both March of 2016 and March of this year.