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6 major Pa. cities see growth

PITTSBURGH — It’s hardly a boom, but the population of six major Pennsylvania cities increased modestly between 2010 and 2012, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last week, the Census Bureau released a list of population trends in 729 U.S. cities with populations over 50,000, from those with the strongest population growth to the weakest.

Philadelphia had the strongest growth in Pennsylvania, at 1.4 percent, or just over 21,600 people.

That put Philadelphia at No. 472 on the growth list nationally. Cedar Park, Texas, was first with a growth rate of 12 percent, and four out of the top five spots went to Texas cities. Youngstown, Ohio, was last on the national list, with a loss of 2.4 percent.

In Pennsylvania, Allentown grew by 942 people, Pittsburgh by 509, Bethlehem by 121, Lancaster by 38 and Reading by 22. Erie had the largest decline of any Pennsylvania city, with a loss of 739 people.

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