2010 Census: Upper Milford Grew by 6% and Emmaus Shrunk by 1%

The local data, released today by the Census Bureau, shows Emmaus lost about 1 percent of its population while Upper Milford gained 5.85 percent in the last decade.

Neighboring municipalities, according to the 2010 Census, all saw increases since 2000: Lower Macungie grew by 59 percent, Macungie by 1.15 percent, Alburtis by 11.5 percent, Salisbury by a mere .05 percent and Upper Saucon by 24 percent.

Emmaus was expected to grow modestly over the decade and had a population of 11,313 in 2000. By 2008 it was estimated Emmaus would have 11,349 residents, but according to the 2010 Census, Emmaus now has 11,211 residents.

Upper Milford started in 2000 with 6,889 residents, and now has 7,292. That too fell short of the 2008 Census estimates of 7,578.

The larger story demographically is the Hispanic population, specifically in Allentown and Bethlehem, which increased dramatically over the last ten years. The Hispanic population of Allentown nearly doubled from 24 percent of the population in 2000 to 43 percent today, according to the Census.

That is reflected, only on a much smaller scale in Emmaus too. In 2000 Hispanic or Latinos over age 18 made up about 1.14 percent of the population, and now that percentage is 3.4.

Changing demographics have had a similarly low influence on Upper Milford, which had .8 percent Hispanic or Latino residents over 18 in 2000 and 1.8 percent now.

Lehigh County as a whole grew by about 12 percent, and the nation grew by about 10 percent.

That leaves both Emmaus and Upper Milford behind the population curve.