Population a mixed-bag across Big Country

ABILENE – Most counties in the Big Country’s populations declined, including the areas covered by the Cline Shale, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Census estimates show Mitchell County losing 67 residents from April 2010 to July 2012. Fisher and Nolan counties also saw decreased population during that same time frame: 3.3 percent for Fisher and 1.9 for Nolan.

Taylor County gained 1,967 new residents, a 1.5 percent increase from 2010. The Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area had 166,963 residents as of July 2012, up from 165,578 during the census in 2010.

The census estimates were calculated only up to July 2012, the time when word of the Cline Shale was just making the rounds, according to Ray Mayo, a Mitchell County judge.

The census estimated there were 9,403 residents in Mitchell County in April 2010; the number was 9,336 in July 2012.