Census numbers show slow growth

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

Preliminary numbers provided to the City of Lockhart regarding the 2010 Census show less than 10 percent growth in the city within the last decade.

While the official census numbers had not been distributed to the city at press time, estimates presented through a private consulting firm show that Lockhart’s total p

opulation increased only 9.32 percent, from 11,615 in 2000 to 12,698 in 2010.

City Manager Vance Rodgers, however, said the figures might be inaccurate, based upon information kept by the city’s utility department.

Notably, the information provided recently to City Planner Dan Gibson reflects a surge in growth in most minority populations. The community’s Hispanic population increased from 5,507 to 6,483, a 17.72-percent jump. The Asian population also showed a marked increase, from 39 to 50 residents, a small number, but a 28.21 percent increase.

Although the population grew, the community seems to have maintained it’s ethnic diversity.

In 2000, Census figures showed 48 percent of Lockhart’s population to be Hispanic, with 39 percent being white and 12 percent, African American. The 2010 Census reveals that Hispanics are still the largest segment of the community, around 52 percent, while 38 percent was identified as white and 9 percent, African American.

Rodgers noted during last weeks’ city council meeting that the figures are being reviewed, and there is a chance the city will ask the Census Bureau to update the figures, if they are deemed to be incorrect.

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