Some cities question census counts

WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Atlanta is among a number of U.S. cities questioning the results of the 2010 census over counts that will affect their federal aid, officials said.

The U.S. Census Bureau told Atlanta and some other U.S. cities that they either lost population or failed to grow during the last decade, Stateline.org reported Tuesday.

Atlanta's 2010 census population of 420,000 represented little growth from the 416,000 recorded in 2000.

Adding to the confusion, the Census Bureau had estimated Atlanta's population at 540,000 a year earlier in July 2009.

Officials said Atlanta provides the most dramatic example of discrepancies between the 2010 census versus the estimates from the Census Bureau in July 2009.

Detroit's population was off more than 20 percent from its 2009 estimate.

None of the 50 largest cities had discrepancies as large as Atlanta and Detroit but Omaha, Phoenix, Cleveland, Dallas, Miami, Houston, Mesa, Ariz. and Chicago all had counts that were at least 5 percent below their most recent estimates.

The Census Bureau said that its figures are correct.

"Obviously, we're doing the best we can with the estimates," said demographer Greg Harper of the Census Bureau, "but they are just estimates."