Have you ever wondered about small towns in America and how many people live there? Today, we’re going to explore a place called Tanger in Indiana. We’ll look at how many people lived there back in 1990, which was an important year for counting people all across the United States.
First, let’s talk about what a census is. A census is like a big count of all the people in a country. The United States does this every ten years. In 1990, the government went around and tried to count everyone living in the country. This included big cities, small towns, and even tiny places like Tanger, Indiana.
Now, you might be wondering, “Where exactly is Tanger, Indiana?” It’s a small town in the Midwest part of the United States. Indiana is known for its farmland, basketball, and the famous Indy 500 car race. Tanger is one of the many small communities that make up this state.
The Population of Tanger in 1990
When we look at the 1990 census, we find something interesting about Tanger. It turns out that Tanger is what we call an “unincorporated community.” This means it’s not officially a town or city on its own. Because of this, the census didn’t count Tanger separately from the bigger area it’s in.
So, we don’t have an exact number for how many people lived in Tanger in 1990. But don’t worry! We can still learn a lot about the area by looking at the bigger picture. Tanger is part of a county, and we do have numbers for that.
Tanger is located in LaGrange County, Indiana. In 1990, LaGrange County had a population of about 29,477 people. This gives us an idea of how many people lived in the general area around Tanger. While we can’t say exactly how many of those people were in Tanger itself, we know it was a small part of this larger number.
Understanding Small Town Populations
Even though we don’t have a specific number for Tanger, we can talk about what life might have been like in a small Indiana community in 1990. Small towns often have a close-knit feel, where many people know their neighbors. They might have had one main street with a few shops, maybe a school, and lots of open space around them.
In 1990, many small towns in Indiana were facing changes. Some were growing as people moved out of big cities, looking for a quieter life. Others were getting smaller as young people moved away to find jobs in bigger places. Without knowing the exact size of Tanger, we can imagine it might have been dealing with some of these same issues.
One thing that’s special about small towns is how they often keep their own personality. Even if we don’t know exactly how many people lived in Tanger, we can guess that it had its own unique character. Maybe it had a local diner where everyone gathered, or a high school football team that the whole town cheered for.
The Bigger Picture: Indiana in 1990
To understand more about what Tanger might have been like in 1990, let’s look at Indiana as a whole. In that year, Indiana had a population of about 5,544,159 people. This means that LaGrange County, where Tanger is, made up less than 1% of the state’s total population.
Indiana was known for its agriculture and manufacturing in 1990. Many people worked on farms or in factories. The state was also famous for its love of basketball. In small towns like Tanger, high school basketball games were often big events that brought the whole community together.
In 1990, the world was changing quickly. The internet was just starting to become a thing, though not many people had it in their homes yet, especially in small towns. People in places like Tanger probably got their news from local newspapers, radio stations, or by talking to their neighbors.
Comparing 1990 to Today
It’s interesting to think about how things have changed since 1990. Today, we can find out all sorts of information with just a few clicks on a computer or phone. Back then, if you wanted to know about a small place like Tanger, you might have had to go to a library or ask someone who lived there.
The way we count people has changed too. While we still do a big census every ten years, we also have more ways to estimate populations in between. This means we can sometimes get better information about small places like Tanger.
Since 1990, many small towns have faced challenges. Some have grown, while others have gotten smaller. Without specific numbers for Tanger, we can’t say for sure what happened there. But we do know that LaGrange County, where Tanger is located, has grown. In 2020, its population was estimated to be around 39,614 people, quite a bit more than in 1990.
Why Population Numbers Matter
You might be wondering why it’s important to know how many people live in a place. Population numbers help decide all sorts of things. They can determine how much money a place gets from the government for schools, roads, and other important stuff. They also help businesses decide where to open new stores or factories.
For a small place like Tanger, being part of LaGrange County’s population count means it gets to share in these benefits. Even if we don’t know exactly how many people lived there in 1990, we know they were included in the bigger picture.
Learning from What We Don’t Know
Sometimes, not having an exact number can teach us something too. The fact that we don’t have a specific population count for Tanger in 1990 tells us that it was a very small place. It reminds us that there are many tiny communities all across America that don’t always show up in the big counts but are still important parts of their states and counties.
It also shows us how things have changed in how we keep track of information. Today, it’s much easier to find data about even very small places. But back in 1990, some of these little towns and unincorporated communities could sort of “hide” in the bigger numbers.
Wrapping Up
So, what have we learned about Tanger, Indiana’s population in 1990? While we don’t have an exact number, we know it was a small part of LaGrange County’s 29,477 people. We’ve seen how it fits into the bigger picture of Indiana and the United States in 1990.
We’ve also learned that sometimes, the story behind the numbers can be just as interesting as the numbers themselves. Tanger might be small, and its exact population in 1990 might be a mystery, but it’s still a part of Indiana’s history and community.
Next time you drive through a small town or see a tiny dot on a map, remember Tanger. Think about all the stories and people that might be there, even if they don’t always show up in the big counts. Every place, no matter how small, has its own tale to tell.
