AUGUSTA, Ga. - Data released from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Augusta's population continues to grow.

The estimates are based on July 1, 2008. At that time, the city of Augusta was estimated to have a population of 194,149, and increase of 1.1 percent over the July 1, 2007 estimate of 192,409. The city of Augusta is ranked as the 113th most populated city in the U.S.

Richmond County, which includes Augusta, Hephzibah, and Blythe, also saw an increase from 197,643 in 2007 to 199,486 in 2008.

Population also increased for other metro counties. Columbia County's population was estimated at 110,627. That's a 1.7 percent increase over the 2007 estimate. Aiken County's population was estimated at 154,071, which is a 1.1 percent increase over the previous year.

The entire Augusta metropolitan statistical area's population was estimated to be 534,218, which makes it the 95th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. The Augusta metro population still easily outranks all Georgia metropolitan areas, except for Atlanta.

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