GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids’ population is believed to have reached an all-time high in summer 2018.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates a population of 200,217 in the city as of July 1, 2018, according to data released Thursday, May 23. The jump would be a 6.5 percent increase since April 2010, when the Census last measured the city’s population.

In 2017, the population was an estimated 198,829.

The Grand Rapids metro area is leading Michigan’s growth as the state is poised to return to the 10 million population mark for the first time since 2008, on the eve of the Great Recession, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Kent County ranked No. 1 in the state in population gains between 2017 and 2018, with an estimated increase of about 4,555 residents to 653,786.

While national estimates suggest Grand Rapids’ population has already surpassed the 200,000 mark, city officials are ramping up education efforts to ensure that as many residents as possible are counted during the 2020 U.S. Census count.

Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss has called it “absolutely critical” that everyone in the city be counted in the next census to ensure sufficient political representation and financial benefits.

The population tally plays a key role in the allocation of state and federal funds, as well as the allocation of congressional seats and the Electoral College votes each state receives.

In Grand Rapids, the Fiscal Year 2020 budget includes an allocation of $100,000 for Census 2020 efforts. The allocation is broken down into $80,000 for temporary staffing and $20,000 for “non-staffing needs,” associated with the complete count campaign.

Bliss said the goal is a population count greater than 200,000, which is where officials believe the community to be.

The city’s population surpassed 100,000 during the 1910 Census count, and has increased during seven of the last 10 decades since then. The last decline was from 2000 to 2010, when the population dropped from 197,800 to 188,040 -- a decade that saw the most significant economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Census day is April 1, 2020. Area offices are expected to open in January 2019, and canvassing efforts are slated for August 2019.

For the first time, the 2020 Census questionnaire will be available to be filled out online, as well as the paper and in-person options of the past.