January: Census estimates show population decline

HARTINGTON — New U.S. Census estimates show Hartington’s population fell to 1,499 in 2023, marking the first time the community has dipped below 1,500 residents since 1920. The data reflects a longterm downward trend following the city’s population peak in the early 1980s. Other Cedar County communities — including Laurel, Randolph, Coleridge, Wynot and Fordyce — also showed modest declines, with the county’s overall population now roughly half of its 1930s peak.