LOCAL - Census - Bloomington Grows by 10,000

Bloomington grows by 10,000 (Pantagraph) By M.K. Guetersloh mkguetersloh@pantagraph.com BLOOMINGTON — About 10,000 people changed their address to one in Bloomington during the past five years.The U.S. Census Bureau announced Friday the city has added 10,167 more people since the 2000 Census. That brings the city’s population up to 74,975. In February, the census bureau conducted the special census for a cost of about $133,000 to the city. And Bloomington isn’t the only community growing. A special census conducted last year in Normal showed the town grew by 5,100 raising its population to 50,485. Bloomington Deputy City Manager Barb Adkins said the rate people are moving into the city speaks to the educational, employment and quality of life opportunities in the Twin Cities. "People want to move here," Adkins said.The increase in population is more than what city officials expected when they first planned for the special census. Initially, city officials believed the population grew by about 7,000. "We knew based on building permits our count was up even before the census was finished in 2000," Adkins said. "This just confirms it, but we didn’t realize we were growing quite this fast." The additional people will mean additional money in the city’s coffers.Certain types of state and federal money are given to communities based on population. That rate is about $111 per person and that could mean and addition $1.1 million a year for the city. However, Adkins said the actual amount for the city has not been calculated.The additional people also will mean additional demand on city services. Adkins said city departments frequently review whether there is enough staff to meet those needs.The city currently employs roughly 680 people. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe and get FREE updates! Appraisal , Real Estate , Bloomington , McLean , Illinois , Realtor