City's population up just a bit

New census figures show Indiana's fastest-growing communities this decade are concentrated in suburban Indianapolis.

Two of Jackson County's incorporated communities - Seymour and Crothersville - showed small increases from July 2007 to July 2008 while the two others - Brownstown and Medora - showed small decreases.

According to a report from Indiana University's Indiana Business Research Center, census figures showed Seymour with 19,223 residents last summer, up from 19,065 the year before and up 6.2 percent since July 2000.

Crothersville gained four residents in 2008, but its population is down 3.9 percent from July 2000.

Brownstown lost eight residents between July 2007 and July 2008, but its population was up slightly, 0.1 percent, from 2000.

Medora was down three residents last year and is down 4.8 percent from 2000.

Population figures play a role in how Indiana communities are classified, but of greater importance to communities' officials is how census figures affect federal funding.

Following the 2000 Census, Seymour officials questioned the findings, contending that the city's population was undercounted. A formal query wasn't filed, however.

Mayor Craig Luedeman said the city is preparing for the 2010 Census, which is scheduled for April 1, 2010.

"We are forming a committee to help ensure the city does get counted in a correct way," he said Monday. "We've also hosted several training sessions for census workers in hopes of making sure we get counted correctly."

Why is that important?

"Grant dollars or federal funding are directly affected by census counts," Luedeman said. "I've been told that for every person counted, it adds up to more than $4,000 in potential grant funding for the city."

The census will count  the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

An analysis of census figures by the Indiana Business Research Center found that Fishers, north of Indianapolis, has gained the most residents since 2000. The Census Bureau estimates that last year Fishers had a population of 69,011 - an 80 percent jump in eight years.

Other Indianapolis suburbs with large growth rates in that time are Noblesville (43.4 percent), Greenwood (30.9 percent) and Carmel (25.2 percent).

Indianapolis has grown by 2.1 percent to an estimated 798,382 people. Fort Wayne remained virtually unchanged from the decade's start at 251,591 as the state's second-largest city.

Overall, the number of Hoosiers was 6.37 million last July, up from 6.33 million in July 2007. The state's population last year showed a 4.9 percent increase since 2000.