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Boston population rises to 645K

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 22, 2010 02:06 PM

By Globe Staff

Seeing more traffic on the roads, more homes being built, more people on the sidewalks? There may be a good reason.

Boston's population has jumped to more than 645,000 people, according to new Census estimates released today.

The July 1, 2009 estimate of 645,169 was up up from 636,748, the estimate the year before. And the number capped a decade of strong growth, with the city's population surging by more than 50,000 -- or 9.5 percent -- from the April 2000 Census estimate of 589,143.

With the increase, the city ranked 20th among the nation's largest cities. New York led with nearly 8.4 million residents, followed by Los Angeles, with 3.8 million, Chicago, with 2.9 million, and Houston, with 2.3 million.

In 2008, Boston's population rose over 600,000 for the first time since the 1970s, after the city challenged the Census Bureau's counts and the bureau revised the number upwards.

The annual estimates update Census counts to reflect births, deaths, and migration. They are also adjusted based on factors such as typical demolition rates, which are estimated using the ages of buildings. The adjustments are statistical estimates rather than actual counts.