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Public Information Office                                        CB00-178
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Colleen Joyce/Jason Devine (Subcounty Estimates)
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Paul Mackun/Todd Gardner (Metro Estimates)
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Gregory Harper (Methodology)
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      Census Bureau Releases Final Metro Area and City Population
         Estimates Before Census 2000 Figures Are Released
                                
 The Commerce Department's Census Bureau today released 1999 population
estimates for the nation's metropolitan areas and their central cities and
for incorporated places and minor civil divisions.

 The estimates are based on 1990 census data and updated by using
administrative records for the period 1990-1999. The new estimates are not
Census 2000 population counts. The first Census 2000 results will be
released in late December.

 Metro area estimates include time series from 1990-99, and rankings by
population size in 1999 and by percent change from 1990 to 1999 and 1998
to 1999.

  Incorporated places comprise cities, towns, villages and boroughs. Minor
civil divisions are primarily towns and townships.

  Annual time series from 1990-99 are shown for each area. Other tables
include cities of 100,000 population or more ranked nationally by their
1999 population and percent growth from 1990 to 1999. Cities of 10,000
population or more are ranked within each state.