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Friday, October 27, 2006
Menino was right: Census estimate wrong, Hub gained population
By Michael Levenson and Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff
The Census Bureau, after being challenged by Boston officials, acknowledged today that it had underestimated Boston's population and released a new tally that shows the city gained residents in the first half of the decade.
The bureau had earlier estimated Boston had lost some 30,000 residents between 2000 and 2005. But the new tally showed Boston gained about 7,500 residents during that period, increasing its population to an estimated 596,638.
The Census said it revised its estimated tally after city officials submitted new data demonstrating that thousands of new housing units had been built in the city in recent years.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino hailed the new tally as a psychic boost for a city that has endured a steady stream of Census Bureau data suggesting the Hub has been losing residents. Menino had long argued that the Census Bureau routinely undercounted immigrants, public housing residents, and students, who make up a significant portion of the city's population. In a statement, Menino said the implication of the new tally are "huge" because they directly affect the way the federal government allocates aid to the city.
"Today's action by the Census Bureau confirms what many residents and private sector leaders felt intuitively -- that Boston is in fact gaining share as a center of global competitiveness," Menino said.
Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 02:20 PM
Menino was right: Census estimate wrong, Hub gained population
By Michael Levenson and Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff
The Census Bureau, after being challenged by Boston officials, acknowledged today that it had underestimated Boston's population and released a new tally that shows the city gained residents in the first half of the decade.
The bureau had earlier estimated Boston had lost some 30,000 residents between 2000 and 2005. But the new tally showed Boston gained about 7,500 residents during that period, increasing its population to an estimated 596,638.
The Census said it revised its estimated tally after city officials submitted new data demonstrating that thousands of new housing units had been built in the city in recent years.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino hailed the new tally as a psychic boost for a city that has endured a steady stream of Census Bureau data suggesting the Hub has been losing residents. Menino had long argued that the Census Bureau routinely undercounted immigrants, public housing residents, and students, who make up a significant portion of the city's population. In a statement, Menino said the implication of the new tally are "huge" because they directly affect the way the federal government allocates aid to the city.
"Today's action by the Census Bureau confirms what many residents and private sector leaders felt intuitively -- that Boston is in fact gaining share as a center of global competitiveness," Menino said.
Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 02:20 PM
