(Des Moines)– Iowa’s population is up, but rural counties are still losing people and urban counties continue to grow.
According to new census estimates, the state’s population in 2007 is more than 2.9 million. That’s up 2.1 percent, or nearly 62-thousand since the 2000 census.
However, 76 of Iowa’s 99 counties lost people. Audubon, Ida and Pocahontas counties posted the sharpest percentage losses. In all three counties, deaths outnumbered births during the seven-year period, and more people moved out than moved in.
Among the 23 counties that saw population increases, uust three are outside of metropolitan areas–Dickinson, Sioux and Davis.
Dallas county near Des Moines continues to stand out. It has had a 40 percent population increase since 2000. It’s also among the top 100 counties in population gain between 2006 and 2007, growing 4.8 percent in one year.
(Story from the Associated Press.).
