Albert Lea saw less than a 1 percent decline in population from 2007 to 2008, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Tuesday.

The 2008 city population estimate is 17,389, while the estimate in 2007 was 17,501, according to the Census Bureau. This is a difference in 112 people.

“To me that 112 isn’t anything we should get excited about,” said Albert Lea Economic Development Agency Executive Director Dan Dorman. “It is what it is. I would call it stable.”

In 2000, the U.S. Census listed Albert Lea’s population at 18,356.

Comparing this number to the newly released population estimate shows a trend in declining population — about a 5.27 percent decline since 2000.

Dorman said people already knew about the decline in population from 2000 to 2007, and the slight drop from 2007 to 2008 was not unexpected either. Declining population is a trend in many Greater Minnesota cities at this time, he said.

For example, Austin has also decreased from 23,314 in 2000 to an estimated 22,800 in 2008, and Willmar has decreased from 18,351 to an estimated 17,774, according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Dorman said the state demographer has predicted that growth will be stagnant in outstate cities, while the closer you get to the Minneapolis and Twin Cities area, the more growth you will see.

A 2007 forecast by the Minnesota State Demographic Center showed Freeborn County slowly decreasing in population through 2010 and then increasing starting in 2015.

Exceptions are cities with four-year universities, Dorman said.

For example, Mankato has seen an almost 12 percent increase in population from about 32,500 to about 36,250, thanks to Minnesota State University, Mankato, he said. The same is true for Moorhead, which saw similar growth.

On the other hand, growth in cities such as Duluth, Bloomington and St. Cloud has slowed almost to a stop, while cities such as Minneapolis and St. Paul saw increases.

“I think we’re going to beat it in the long run, but I do think it’s important to recognize there are certain things we can’t control locally,” Dorman said. “We can do all sorts of things to attract people locally, which we’re doing, but a lot of it is related to state tax policy.”

He said a big step in attracting people to Albert Lea came with the passing of the half-cent sales tax, which is being used to clean up the city’s lakes. The city, county and ALEDA are also working diligently with businesses that want to relocate here or expand.

“We just need to keep pitching and telling our story,” he said.

Albert Lea Mayor Mike Murtaugh said because the numbers released Tuesday are estimates, it’s hard for him to speculate about the decrease. His initial reaction, however, was that a large reason for the decrease in population from 2000 to 2008 was an effect of the Farmland Foods fire and closure in 2001.

“That’s probably the most significant single event in the 2000 to 2008 time period,” Murtaugh said. “However, we’ve replaced many of those jobs with Select Foods, Larson Manufacturing, Rainbow Play Systems and others.”

He said perhaps there are more people commuting to work, and maybe the lower birthrate plays a factor as well.

“Again, because these are estimates, it’s even more important that people respond accurately when the full 2010 census is conducted next spring,” he said. “We need to be sure every person in Albert Lea and Freeborn County, and the entire state, is counted.”

Minnesota could lose a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives if just a few people are lost from the state population, he noted.

“I believe we are working to keep Albert Lea a desirable place to live and do business — affordable both in taxation and cost of living expenses,” he said. “Having a good quality of life and being a healthy place to live will help attract people, such as working to improve water quality in our lakes.”

The AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project is also giving city leaders ideas to improve health and liveability, while also giving national publicity, he said.

Census estimates

The U.S. Census Bureau has released its estimates for the populations of U.S. cities for 2008, and in Minnesota the top 10 list looks about the same as it has for the past few years. The Twin Cities continued to gain in population from 2007 to 2008, as did a number of suburbs.

The following chart shows the state’s most populous cities and how much they’ve grown from 2007 to 2008. It also includes the new populations for several other notable cities, along with how their 2008 populations rank within the state.

The population of the state as a whole increased in 2008 by about 38,000 to 5.22 million.

The following chart shows population rank, city, 2000 Census population, the 2007 population, the 2008 population, the percent change from 2000 to 2008, the real change from 2007 to 2008 and the percent change from 2007 to 2008.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank City 2000 Cen 07 Pop 08 Pop Pct Change Change Pct Change 

1 Minneapolis 382,618 379,616 382,605 0.00% 2,989 0.8% 

2 St. Paul 287,151 278,014 279,590 -2.63% 1,576 0.6% 

3 Rochester 85,806 98,669 100,413 17.02% 1,744 1.8% 

4 Duluth 86,918 84,281 84,284 -3.03% 3 0.0% 

5 Bloomington 85,172 81,016 81,280 -4.57% 264 0.3% 

6 Plymouth 65,894 70,758 71,486 8.49% 728 1.0% 

7 Brooklyn Park 67,388 70,502 71,308 5.82% 806 1.1% 

8 St. Cloud 59,107 66,686 66,948 13.27% 262 0.4% 

9 Eagan 63,557 63,704 63,985 0.67% 281 0.4% 

10 Coon Rapids 61,607 61,803 61,832 0.37% 29 0.0% 

Notables 

21 Mankato 32,427 36,023 36,245 11.77% 222 0.6% 

23 Moorhead 32,177 35,130 36,012 11.92% 882 2.5% 

33 Winona 27,069 26,839 26,785 -1.05% (54) -0.2% 

44 Austin 23,314 22,893 22,800 -2.20% (93) -0.4% 

46 Faribault 20,818 21,853 22,009 5.72% 156 0.7% 

58 Stillwater 15,143 17,773 17,896 18.18% 123 0.7% 

59 Willmar 18,351 17,783 17,774 -3.14% (9) -0.1% 

60 Albert Lea 18,356 17,501 17,389 -5.27% (112) -0.6% 

64 Hibbing 17,071 16,235 16,209 -5.05% (26) -0.2% 

65 Red Wing 16,116 15,655 15,687 -2.66% 32 0.2% 

72 Brainerd 13,178 13,699 13,691 3.89% (8) -0.1% 

73 Fergus Falls 13,471 13,656 13,636 1.22% (20) -0.1% 

74 Bemidji 11,917 13,346 13,541 13.63% 195 1.5% 

77 New Ulm 13,594 13,124 13,048 -4.02% (76) -0.6% 

89 Worthington 11,283 10,906 11,036 -2.19% 130 1.2% 

101 Virginia 9,157 8,497 8,480 -7.39% (17) -0.2% 

109 East Grand Forks 7,501 7,769 7,812 4.15% 43 0.6% 

127 International Falls 6,703 6,014 5,906 -11.89% (108) -1.8%