Population growth up 12.8 percent in region
Weldon Cooper releases population estimates
The communities that make up the Thomas Jefferson Planning District have grown by an average of 12.8 percent since the 2010 Census according to the latest population estimates from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia. This time around they are making an adjustment based on what they see as an undercount in the 2020 U.S. Census.
“Localities with relatively large college populations, including some Virginia localities, were often undercounted in the April 1st, 2020 Census Count,” reads a disclaimer on the website. “We have benchmarked the 2020 and 2021 population estimates on the Weldon Cooper Center estimates instead of the 2020 Census count for localities with populations that are comprised of over 20 percent college students.”
That includes Charlottesville, which Weldon Cooper puts at an estimate of 51,079 as of July 1, 2021. The U.S. Census put the figure at 46,553, but the count was taken at the beginning of the pandemic when University of Virginia students had all gone home. Weldon’s estimates for the past few years have been higher, with a 2020 estimate of 51,050. That’s a 14.9 percent growth rate since 2010.
- Albemarle County had an estimated population of 114,424 for July 2021, a 13.7 percent increase since 2010.
- Fluvanna added another 1,865 residents for an estimate of 27,556. That’s a 6.7 percent increase since 2010.
- Greene County grew 12.8 percent with an estimate of 21,030 people.
- Louisa County grew 13.9 percent with a population estimate of 38,364
- Nelson County lost 200 people for a 1.4 percent decrease in population, with a 2021 estimate of 14.820.
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