New population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that several counties around the Twin Cities metro area continue to rapidly add population, while many Red River Valley counties continue to lose. The following table shows the bureau’s 2000 population estimates, the new 2008 estimates and the change between the two. For the state as a whole, the population increased from 4.9 million in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2008, an increase of about 6 percent. County 2000 2008 Change ¤ Aitkin 15,301 15,736 2.8% Anoka 298,086 327,090 9.7% Becker 30,000 32,000 6.7% Beltrami 39,650 43,835 10.6% Benton 34,227 39,878 16.5% Big Stone 5,820 5,365 -7.8% Blue Earth 55,937 60,401 8.0% Brown 26,911 25,862 -3.9% Carlton 31,671 33,933 7.1% Carver 70,205 90,043 28.3% Cass 27,153 28,732 5.8% Chippewa 13,088 12,414 -5.1% Chisago 41,101 50,257 22.3% Clay 51,229 55,767 8.9% Clearwater 8,423 8,249 -2.1% Cook 5,168 5,437 5.2% Cottonwood 12,167 11,283 -7.3% Crow Wing 55,099 62,172 12.8% Dakota 355,904 392,755 10.4% Dodge 17,731 19,751 11.4% Douglas 32,824 36,258 10.5% Faribault 16,181 14,624 -9.6% Fillmore 21,122 20,850 -1.3% Freeborn 32,584 30,927 -5.1% Goodhue 44,127 45,897 4.0% Grant 6,286 6,005 -4.5% Hennepin 1,116,037 1,140,988 2.2% Houston 19,718 19,245 -2.4% Hubbard 18,373 18,810 2.4% Isanti 31,287 39,105 25.0% Itasca 43,994 44,512 1.2% Jackson 11,268 10,734 -4.7% Kanabec 14,996 16,091 7.3% Kandiyohi 41,201 40,679 -1.3% Kittson 5,279 4,462 -15.5% Koochiching 14,355 13,251 -7.7% Lac qui Parle 8,067 7,165 -11.2% Lake 11,058 10,609 -4.1% Lake of the Woods 4,522 3,985 -11.9% Le Sueur 25,426 28,042 10.3% Lincoln 6,425 5,837 -9.2% Lyon 25,429 24,844 -2.3% Mahnomen 5,190 5,128 -1.2% Marshall 10,155 9,502 -6.4% Martin 21,802 20,435 -6.3% McLeod 34,898 37,165 6.5% Meeker 22,648 23,143 2.2% Mille Lacs 22,330 26,377 18.1% Morrison 31,715 32,893 3.7% Mower 38,604 37,859 -1.9% Murray 9,165 8,389 -8.5% Nicollet 29,771 32,027 7.6% Nobles 20,832 20,365 -2.2% Norman 7,442 6,605 -11.2% Olmsted 124,277 141,360 13.7% Otter Tail 57,159 56,786 -0.7% Pennington 13,584 13,747 1.2% Pine 26,530 28,297 6.7% Pipestone 9,895 9,395 -5.1% Polk 31,369 30,694 -2.2% Pope 11,236 11,030 -1.8% Ramsey 511,205 501,428 -1.9% Red Lake 4,299 4,069 -5.4% Redwood 16,815 15,493 -7.9% Renville 17,154 15,861 -7.5% Rice 56,665 62,390 10.1% Rock 9,721 9,476 -2.5% Roseau 16,338 15,865 -2.9% Scott 89,498 128,937 44.1% Sherburne 64,415 87,660 36.1% Sibley 15,356 14,954 -2.6% St Louis 200,527 196,864 -1.8% Stearns 133,164 147,076 10.4% Steele 33,680 36,546 8.5% Stevens 10,053 9,661 -3.9% Swift 11,956 11,035 -7.7% Todd 24,426 23,917 -2.1% Traverse 4,134 3,660 -11.5% Wabasha 21,609 21,813 0.9% Wadena 13,713 13,311 -2.9% Waseca 19,526 19,443 -0.4% Washington 201,128 229,173 13.9% Watonwan 11,882 10,860 -8.6% Wilkin 7,138 6,286 -11.9% Winona 49,985 49,879 -0.2% Wright 89,993 119,701 33.0% Yellow Medicine 11,080 9,958 -10.1%