Milwaukee Grows

The U.S. Census Bureau gave Milwaukee a gift.

It boosted the city's population estimate by nearly 30,000.

Milwaukee's population was boosted by nearly 30,000 residents this week - courtesy of a revised U.S. Census Bureau estimate - pushing the city's overall population to 602,782 people.

The revision vaults Milwaukee from 25th place to 22nd among America's largest cities, leaping past Washington, Seattle and Boston.

Now, it's only an estimate - and one from 2006, for that matter - but this is big stuff for a city that has struggled against a decades-long population decline.

..."What this shows is there is really a renaissance going on in Milwaukee and people are coming here," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. "I think it is part of the energy that we have in the city right now, the positive energy."

Beyond the psychic boost the numbers may yield - the new number suggests Milwaukee has gained 5,808 people since the 2000 census - they also help the city in other ways. Census estimates are used in some cases to apportion federal dollars, and they are also looked at closely by private industry.

"Not only does the number show that the trend of Milwaukee's decline has stopped but that Milwaukee is actually growing," Barrett said. "If you go back to 2000, we're larger now than in 2000. That is important. And obviously by painting this accurate picture, it can help us with our fair share of federal aid."

For several years, Barrett said he has been "agitated" by census figures that showed the city losing residents.

"I've always harped on the undercount, and people's eyes start glazing over," he said.

The Census Bureau's estimation of Milwaukee's population to have grown by 5,808 people since 2000 is a good thing. Tacking on almost 30,000 additional bodies to the city's official population total has benefits.

It helps in terms of federal aid.

However, I question how good the news really is.

The numbers are a revised estimate by the Census Bureau. In effect, the agency agreed to bestow nearly 30,000 people on Milwaukee's population. OK, if they say so. I see the revision as more of a political win, a successful negotiation, than an actual discovery of tens of thousands of uncounted people.

Not to rain on the parade, but I'm skeptical of Mayor Barrett's claim that this revised count indicates that there's a "renaissance going on in Milwaukee and people are coming here."

I know that there is a lot of development downtown, with condos springing up like weeds; but I don't think that offsets the negative aspects of the shrinking middle class neighborhoods, the instability, and the flight to the suburbs and exburbs by families with the resources to escape Milwaukee.

Has homeownership jumped in the city?

Has there been a surge of new businesses in the city?

Have per capita incomes increased?

Has the tax base grown?

Who are these 30,000 people magically added to the population?

What are their demographics?

What are the education levels of these "new" members of the city?

Has poverty dropped?

Bottom line: Is Milwaukee's revised population really an indication of a renaissance?

Without more detailed information on these 30,000 residents, it's jumping the gun to consider this to be an entirely positive development.

If the increases in the city's population don't include people contributing to the city's economy, it's no renaissance.

If the city has a larger dependent population than previously recorded, the revised estimate isn't a plus for Milwaukee at all. It's an increased burden. It's a drag. No psychic boost there.

Has the city's population of the poor grown, thanks to the U.S. Census Bureau's change of mind?

Important questions:

Is the growth in the population real?

If so, is the growth good?