In 2015, the U.S. Census made some changes to its methodology for estimating city populations. The city of Ralston, a suburb of Omaha, provides a case study for the effect of the changes.
"The latest batch of U.S. Census Bureau estimates came with a surprise for landlocked Ralston: The Omaha suburb was No. 2 on the list of the 10 fastest-growing cities in Nebraska," reports the BH Media New Service for the Ralston Recorder.
But there's a catch, according to David Drozd, research coordinator for the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The sudden appearance on the list is because of a Census Bureau mistake, he said. More specifically, it’s because in correcting a different mistake, the Census Bureau inadvertently created a new mistake in Ralston’s population estimate.
The mistake arises from changes made by the Census Bureau's to the methodology of its population estimates. In 2015, the Census Bureau realized it was realizing too much on building permits to calculate populations.
For more on the most recent release of the population estimates, read Planetizen's round up of news on the data release.
FULL STORY: Ralston's population boom turns out to be just a Census Bureau glitch
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