Early census figures suggest Baldwin is shrinking

Preliminary data from the 2010 census suggests Baldwin is shrinking. Current totals set the township's size at 5,551, which is down from the 2009 tally of 6,656.

Even if you take into account the preliminary margin of error of 20 people, that still shows Baldwin has lost over 1,000 people in the last year.

During the same time period both the township and city of Princeton grew slightly -- with its township population up to 2,448 from 2,231 and its city population up 4,647 from 4,518.

This could mean there has been a slight shifting of people from Baldwin into the greater Princeton area. But the modest gains in the township and city of Princeton area are too small to account for most of Baldwin's resident loss.

The message from the preliminary census results is clear: Baldwin is shrinking and it's shrinking fast.

This is the first significant population loss Baldwin has had since 1970, when the population of the township was 1,100 people.

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Is this a sign of things to come? Will Baldwin continue to shrink? And if so, how much? Will the population growth of Baldwin's recent boom be undone or is this just a temporary readjustment?

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