Therefore, The town initially has a population of 19,820.
The population is unfortunately decreasing at a rate of 2% annually.
Each year, the town loses roughly 396 people.
To determine this
The population of the town over time is effectively modeled by the function f(x) = 19,820 * 0.98^x, where:
x is the number of years that have elapsed since the first measurement.
19,820 people were living in the town when it first opened.
The growth/decay factor, which shows the annual percentage change in population, is represented by 0.98.
Consequently:
19,820 were the initial population (obtained when x = 0).
Trend of Population Declines. In the long run, the population declines because the growth factor (0.98) is less than 1.
Growth/Decay Factor: 0.98, indicating an annual 2% decline in population.
Annual Change in Population: -396 Individuals. The population in year 0 (19,820) is subtracted from the population one year later (0.98 * 19,820) to get this figure.