Butler County officials said they are not surprised that the county population increased last year.

The population rose by 901 from 186,207 in 2016 to 187,108 last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 estimates released Thursday.

Butler County’s population has grown 1.8 percent since 2010. It is the only county in the region with an estimated population increase, according to the report.

County officials said low taxes, employment opportunities, education, health care and recreation are what draw people.

“It’s a great place to live, work and raise a family,” said Leslie Osche, chairman of the Butler County commissioners.

She said many people relocate from Allegheny County to Butler County because of lower property taxes.

Cranberry Township and other communities in the southwest corner of the county are growing fast, she said.

“The southwest corner of the county has really grown in population for any number of reasons, and give credit to Cranberry Township and other municipalities in the southwest for planning for that growth,” Osche said.

Employment in the oil and gas industry is contributing to the growth. The ethane cracker plant being built in Beaver County will create more jobs leading to additional employment in plastic manufacturing, she said.

“I think we’re going to continue to grow. I think the gas and oil business will continue to be successful and the cracker plant will lead to plastics companies moving to the area. Manufacturing continues to be strong. We’re one of the rare areas where that’s happening,” Osche said.

Quality health care and recreation also attract people to live in the county, she said.

“We’re still leading the southwestern (Pennsylvania) region in population growth. Not many counties can brag that they’re growing,” Osche said.

Population losses in surrounding counties included 4,505 in Allegheny, 490 in Armstrong, 983 in Beaver, 100 in Clarion, 562 in Lawrence and 923 in Mercer County, according to the report.

“Although I haven’t seen the statistics they don’t surprise me,” said Stan Kosciuszko, Butler County Chamber of Commerce president. “One of the indications is the wonderful quality of life and affordable cost of living compared to Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.”

He said a number of businesses are looking at the county to expand and build headquarters.

“Our educational system is very highly rated. We’re one of the few counties with a community college and a four-year college. Butler Health System has been ranked very highly in health care. We also have a lot of recreation — Moraine State Park, a lot of golf courses and the Freeport Trail,” Kosciuszko said.

He pointed out that Butler Memorial Hospital is ranked among the top 100 hospitals in the country and Butler County Community College has been ranked the best community college in the state for consecutive years.

“It’s a good place to live, a good place to work and a good place to play. Taxes are low because of the business base that’s here. We have wonderful neighborhoods — Slippery Rock, Saxonburg, Evans City, Zelienople, downtown Butler — many locally owned shops and bakeries,” Kosciuszko said.

Jack Cohen, Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau president, said he hadn’t seen the Census report either, but wasn’t surprised by its findings.

“It’s no surprise to me. The difference is our communities continue to grow because they have the ability to grow for families. Housing markets and quality of life issues are big reasons our population continues to grow,” Cohen said.

Employment, strong school districts, great colleges, art, quality health care and state, county and local parks all contribute to a high quality of life, he said.

“We take that for granted, but that’s why we’re here — because we want to be part of that,” Cohen said. “There’s so much here. We’re so lucky to have those things at our fingertips.”