A quarter of Idaho cities lost population

Fifty-two of Idaho's 200 cities lost population between mid-2008 and mid-2009, up from the 45 posting losses in 2008 but still well below the number of cities that experienced population losses following the 2001 recession.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday estimated the total population of Idaho's incorporated cities on July 1, 2009 at 1,056,669, an increase of just under 1.3 percent from July 1, 2008. The population outside those 200 cities rose just 1 percent to almost 490,000. Statewide population grew a recession-slowed 1.2 percent, the smallest annual population gain since the 2000 census.

North Idaho cities' population from 2008 to 2009

• Athol, up 3 to 688

• Coeur d'Alene, up 719 to 43,805

• Dalton Gardens, up 15 to 2,392

• Fernan Lake Village, up 1 to 183

• Harrison, up 4 to 288

• Hauser, up 3 to 770

• Hayden, up 268 to 13,190

• Hayden Lake, up 7 to 564

• Huetter, up 1 to 97

• Plummer, down 18 percent to 984

• Post Falls, up 594 to 26,909

• Rathdrum, up 165 to 6, 948

• Spirit Lake up 27 percent to 1,755

• St. Maries down 41 percent to 2,609

• Worley, up 23 to 244

The largest increase was in Meridian, which grew more than 2,100 or 3.2 percent and remained the state's third largest city behind Boise and Nampa.

The only change in the top 10 cities was marked by Idaho Falls gaining nearly 1,000 people to become the fourth largest city, passing Pocatello, which gained fewer than 100 to settle in fifth.