Although they can’t entirely explain it, Wheaton officials announced last week that the city’s population soared by more than 20 percent between 1990 and 1997, to more than 62,000 residents.
City Manager Donald B. Rose said his staff originally projected a growth of about 6,000 from the 51,464 residents who were counted in 1990. But the U.S. Census Bureau revealed the city’s population jumped by 10,663 residents, to 62,127. Wheaton officials had not projected the city to surpass the 60,000 mark until around the year 2005.
“It’s very clear that there has been a great deal of growth in the Wheaton area,” said Mayor C. James Carr.
Wheaton’s financial payoff for conducting a special census will be huge. The city expects an additional $700,000 a year in rebated state motor-fuel and income taxes, based on a state formula that returns $68.20 per additional resident to municipalities.
The special census cost $52,412.
