Population spurt bucks real estate trends

            While the Central Oregon real estate market rode a roller coaster to the top and down population growth ended the decade firmly on the upside.

            New statistics from the US Census Bureau put Deschutes County atop the list of all Oregon counties with a whopping 36.72% increase in population from 2000 through 2010 while rising from 115,367 to 157,733.

Redmond lead the way in population growth for the county and all of the state’s larger cities with a 94% increase for the decade, nearly doubling from 13,481 in 2000 to 26,215. Bend’s population climbed from 52,029 to 76,639 over the decade, a 47.3% rise.

The Bend Census statistics are at odds with population numbers from the Population Research Center of Portland State University, which estimated the city’s population at 83,215 in July of 2010. The Center is the state-designated demographic tracking agency.

Bend officials question whether the city has lost population as might be indicated from the variance between the federal and state estimates. However, the Census numbers are important for their application to such tasks as distributing federal funds for highways, emergency services and schools and by the state for defining legislative districts.

The Census numbers show that eight eastern Oregon counties declined in population over the decade. Among those losing population were Burns and Baker City as LaGrande gained.