Gary’s population has slipped below that of Hammond, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday, with the Steel City losing 22 percent of its citizens in the past 10 years.
Gary’s 2010 total population was 80,294, according to the state’s Legislative Services Agency. Hammond, meanwhile, had a total population of 80,830. That’s 536 more residents than Gary.
The Gary numbers reflect a 22 percent population loss since the 2000 Census, when its total population was 102,746. Hammond, meanwhile, lost just 2.6 percent of its total population since 2000, when its number was 83,048.
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay said he will appeal the results of the 2010 census.
“We really worked tenaciously to try to get people to fill out the forms,” Clay said. “Those numbers may be on paper, but those are not the real numbers.
“In reality Gary has many, many, many more people than that,” Clay said.
State Rep. Charlie Brown, a Gary resident, called the numbers “hard to believe.”
“In fact, it’s impossible to believe,” Brown said.
He, like Clay, said people must have decided not to participate in last year’s count.
“All the more reason we need a new mayor,” Brown said.
State Rep. Vernon Smith, also of Gary, called the numbers “painful.” He said he remembers when Gary’s population was more than double the new count.
“I don’t think we even did a good job,” Smith said of his hometown’s census campaign.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. was surprised Hammond surpassed Gary in population. He expected Hammond’s population would outpace Gary in 2020, not 10 years earlier.
McDermott characterized Gary’s population loss as a regional problem that must be addressed. “It’s sad to see Gary dropping so fast. It’s extremely concerning. I feel bad for Mayor Clay. I know he’s doing everything he can. It’s shocking to me. I didn’t think in any way Hammond would pass up Gary in the 2010 census.”
McDermott credited his administration’s focus on home ownership and the College Bound Scholarship Program as initiatives that stabilized population. He actually thought the city’s population would have taken a bigger hit because one of his first actions as mayor was closing the River Park Apartments.
Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, said she knew Northwest Indiana’s population was moving southeast, so she wasn’t surprised to hear about Gary’s population loss.
However, she said the population shift could mean a change in Northwest Indiana’s mostly Democratic delegation.
“We might lose a seat,” Tallian said.
Lake and Porter counties also posted population growth. Lake County’s population grew to 496,005, a 2.4 percent increase from 2000. Porter County’s population increased 12 percent to 164,343.
In Lake County, Crown Point’s population grew 38 percent to 27,317 residents.
“We are one of the fastest growing communities in Lake County,” Crown Point Mayor David Uran said. “We are very proud of that, and we believe we bring a lot of quality of life.”
The state’s population grew by more than 400,000 residents or 6.6 percent to 6,483,802 as of April 1, 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Indiana’s census data was delivered to the Statehouse this week in large data files. Lawmakers have said it could take up to two weeks to process all the information.
Those numbers will be used by lawmakers this year to redraw the legislative districts that determine how Hoosiers are represented in government. The state will keep its nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senate leaders have said they likely will have public hearings around the state for the redistricting.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said the GOP-led legislature plans to draw fair maps. He said computer terminals will be available in the northern, central and southern parts of Indiana for the public to look at Census data.
Indianapolis grew 4.8 percent to 829,718 residents. Fort Wayne saw the largest growth among the five most populous cities as it jumped 23.3 percent to 253,691 residents.
Evansville, South Bend and Hammond rounded out the top five cities.
The Indiana University Business Research center says the head count indicates that Indiana’s rate of population change over the decade fell short of the state’s 9.7 percent growth during the 1990s but exceeds the growth seen in the 1970s and the 1980s.
Reporter Chelsea Schneider Kirk and The Associated Press contributed to this report.