LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION 



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uation, but there is an inverse relation between area and population 

 per square mile, and between area and valuation per square mile. 



Population per Town 



According to the 1930 census, population in the 89 towns ranged 

 from 82 to 2,183 and averaged 673. Total population is closely asso- 

 ciated with density of population. In the 25 towns with populations 

 of less than 400 there are only 8.3 people per square mile compared 

 with 33.5 for toAvns having a population of 1,000 and over (Table 2). 

 There was less variation in the population per town in 1880 than in 

 1930. Those with less than 400 people in 1930, and these are, on the 

 average, more sparsely populated, had more than double that number 

 in 1880. This trend in loss of population for this group of towns con- 

 tinued at about the same rate from 1920 to 1930, a fact not generally 

 true of towns with a population of 400 or more in 1930. In general, 

 the smaller the population in 1930, the greater was the loss of popu- 

 lation during the 50-year period. Towns having a population of 1,000 

 and over in 1930 had slightly more than maintained their population 

 of 1920. There is a direct relation between total taxable wealth per 

 town and population per town, but assessed valuation per capita is 

 only $967 for towns with a population of 1,000 and over, compared 

 with $1,381 for towns with a population of less than 400. 



Table 2. Relation of Population per Town to Expenditures, Taxes, and 

 Other Factors 



It is normal that total expenditures per town should be greater 

 for the larger and more densely populated towns inasmuch as it is 

 these towns which have had an expansion in the number and amounts 

 of public services. However, net expenditures of these groups of 

 towns do not increase as rapidly as their populations. In towns hav- 



