The following represent city-, county-, and regional-level news stories around the state relating to the BEBR Population Program's recent release of the April 1, 2009 preliminary population estimates.

Brevard's population dipped last year - Florida Today - August 24, 2009
UF: Polk Is Losing People - The Ledger - August 22, 2009

LAKELAND | A new U.S. Census estimate shows Polk County's population growth has slowed but is still stronger than that of Florida as a whole.

The U.S. Census Bureau is releasing estimates today showing Polk County's population as of July 1, 2008, to be 580,594.

That's a 20 percent increase since the 483,924 population recorded in the last census, released April 1, 2000. The increase for the entire state during that time was 14.7 percent.

LAKELAND | The financial crises over the last year and a half and the housing market drying up like crocus on the desert floor has had an impact on Polk County's population growth - six municipalities lost population in the last year.

While the county's population has increased by 21 percent since the U.S. Census Bureau's once-every-decade census in 2000, compared to Florida's rate of 17.7 percent, the gains were made during the first seven years.

Life in Polk County got cheaper in 2006 … relatively speaking. A recently released report from the University of Florida says so, ranking Polk's cost of living 35th out of the state's 67 counties, a decrease from the previous year.

The 2006 Florida County Retail Price Index ranks Monroe as the state's most expensive county, at No. 1, while No. 67 Washington is the cheapest. Polk's new rating was down from 25th in the 2005 report.