Country Facts and Folklore
By Andy Reddick
TOWNS IN VAN BUREN COUNTY GAIN POPULATION
Van Buren County reached its lowest population in 1990, after nine decades of decline. The 2000 Census revealed an increase of 1.7% in population to 7,809 but this was followed by another declining trend. On July 1, 2005 the population of Van Buren County had dropped to 7,739 people. In just one year, the county gained almost 100 and stood at 7,836 on July 1, 2006!
On June 27, 2007 the U.S. Census Bureau released the latest estimates for all Iowa towns and villages. It is interesting to note that every village in Van Buren County increased in population from 2005 to 2006, except for Mt. Sterling, which remained the same after losing three people from the 2000-2004 data.
The following tabulation of data is the latest result of U.S. Census Bureau estimates:
Population of Van Buren County towns/villages
| Town | July 1, 2006 | July 1, 2005 | low point since 2000 | 2000 population |
| Birmingham | 430 | 424 | 421 (2001) | 423 |
| Bonaparte | 458 | 452 | 449 (2003) | 458 |
| Cantril | 260 | 257 | 255 (2001) | 257 |
| Farmington | 735 | 726 | 726 (2005) | 756 |
| Hillsboro | 205 | 206 | 204 (2004) | 205 |
| Keosauqua | 1,085 | 1,067 | 1,067(2005) | 1,066 |
| Milton | 505 | 499 | 498 (2003) | 550 |
| Mt. Sterling | 37 | 37 | 37 (2005) | 40 |
| Stockport | 288 | 284 | 282 (2001) | 284 |
It will be interesting to see if the trend of increasing population will continue into our future.
- -
Contributed to the Van Buren Co. IAGenWeb Project
by Andy Reddick
http://iagenweb.org/vanburen/