Lakeland's Population Hits 92,796

LAKELAND | Lakeland crossed the 90,000 population mark for the first time, according to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate released today.

It now is a little more than 7,000 people away from the 100,000 mark that city officials and business leaders set as a goal more than 20 years ago.

Polk County's largest city now has an estimated population of 92,796.

It is the 21st-largest among the 411 Florida cities, towns and villages covered in the 2007 Census Bureau estimates. In 2006, it ranked 23rd with an estimated population of 89,899.

Lakeland's population in the 2000 census was 78,452, which means it grew by 18.3 percent in seven years.

Polk County overall, which includes unincorporated areas, grew by 16 percent, from 483,924 people in 2000 to 574,746 in July 2007.

Winter Haven, with 32,577 residents, is the county's second-largest city and ranks 71st among Florida cities, up four from its rank of 75 in 2006, when its population was 30,881. Winter Haven's population has increased by 23 percent since 2000, when it had 26,487 residents.

Every 10 years the Census Bureau conducts a national census in which U.S. residents are sent questionnaires. The information is compiled for its primary purpose - aiding in the redistricting of state legislative and congressional seats.

But in other years, the bureau compiles estimates of the population using information gathered from administrative records, tax returns, registered births and deaths, military movements, Medicare enrollee records and other sources.

In the 1990s, Lakeland business leaders prompted city officials to begin a campaign to reach a population of 100,000. The city began an aggressive annexation campaign, putting the issue to voters in various neighborhoods and many of the neighborhoods chose to annex into the city.

But in the mid-1990s, as the population began to swell, city officials pointed to the cost of bringing many annexed areas up to city standards with sidewalks, street lights and various city services. The drive slowed, but later picked up again.

The argument for reaching that magic figure of 100,000 was that it opened up more federal grants and other considerations, and created a positive perception among large corporations wanting to build new plants and offices.

"It's true that large businesses don't want to come to a small town," Lakeland Mayor Buddy Fletcher said. "But when you are up there with the big boys (cities of 100,000 or more) as we are then you get looked over by the major corporations looking for location change."

Postal records that include residents outside the city limits indicate that nearly 300,000 people have Lakeland addresses.

Fletcher said the census estimate showing that Lakeland grew by nearly 3,000 residents from July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2007 indicates that the economic downturn in that period did not stop growth in the city.

"And most of that has been natural growth within existing city limits rather than annexation," Fletcher said. "We have had a lot of in-fill of land that was already within the city limits, but not yet built upon. We had rapid growth in the southwest portion of the city. We also annexed some land out there in the Pipkin Road area."

"The beauty about in-fill (construction) is that you already have your water, streets and amenities. You just build your house," he said.

Of the 20 Florida cities with larger populations than Lakeland, 18 have populations of 100,000 or more.

Fletcher said he still thinks Lakeland can reach the 100,000 mark by the next decennial census in April 2010

Other Polk cities have had even bigger growth.

The fastest-growing city this decade has been Haines City, growing from 13,174 in the 2000 census to 18,569 in the 2007 estimates, an increase of 41 percent. It reflects the high growth rate in the northeast corner of the county.

But there continues to be growth trouble spots, largely in the southern portion of the county.

Frostproof lost population, going from 2,975 in the 2000 census to 2,899 in the 2007 estimates, and Mulberry dropped from 3,230 to 3,194.

In just one year, Polk County had an increase of more than 16,000 people, from 558,023 in July 2006 to 574,746 in July 2007.

Lakeland Economic Development Director Steve Scruggs said that at least one leg of the county real estate economy is still healthy.

"You had a three-part economy there," Scruggs said. "You had speculators building houses, people moving in and people here who were upgrading. Two parts are gone, the speculators and those upgrading, but we still have people moving here," Scruggs said.

"That had not gone away by last summer and I would say that people are still moving in here," he said. "The unemployment rate still has not shot up astronomically."

If people continue to move to Polk, Scruggs said, it could help the county weather the downturn somewhat until the economy improves.

[ Bill Rufty can be reached at bill.rufty@theledger.com or 802-7523. ]