Ask LaFleur: How quickly is Greenville growing?

Question: Is it true the Greenville area is growing at an average rate of 300 people a day?

Answer: This isn't the only question I've received about Greenville's growth rate. A few other emails have come in over the past few weeks asking me to look into just how fast this community is growing.

Greenville is growing, but the number by which it's growing isn't quite so dramatic. Adding an average of 300 people per day would give the area 109,500 more people per year. The city of Greenville's current population is only about 67,453.

For this answer, I went to Greenville city officials who provided census data for the city and county. An analyst in the city's Economic Development department said the city relies on census figures for population estimates. The most recent estimates show Greenville grew 5.8 percent between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016, adding 3,912 people in the city.

Using the census numbers, city officials say they can deduce a daily growth figure of about 10.71 people per day in the city.

More: Ask LaFleur: How is the new Five Forks library being stocked?

More: Ask LaFleur: Are there any plans to upgrade the SRT crossing at W. Blue Ridge?

For Greenville County, they said the population increase was about 8,105 people over the same 12-month period, bringing the total population to 498,766. That increase amounts to about 22.2 people added per day (including the 10.71 added to the city).

While Greenville County's growth rate is not quite as dramatic as the number shared by this reader, a 5.8 percent growth rate in the city was enough to put Greenville at No. 4 on the U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 list of fastest growing large cities in the country (population of 50,000 or more).

Do you have a question you want answered? Send it to elafleur@greenvillenews.com, contact Elizabeth on her Facebook page at facebook.com/ElizabethSLaFleur or send questions via mail to Elizabeth LaFleur 32 E. Broad St. Greenville, SC 29601. Answers will appear in the Tuesday and Friday print editions of The Greenville News.