Coming at first and second place were Rutherford and Williamson counties, and it would appear likely that the boost in their populations has spilled over into this county.

As of July 1, 2007, Bedford County was reported to have a population of 44,062, as opposed to a count of 37,586 in 2000 and 30,411 in 1990.

That's 6,476 more people since eight years ago and 13,651 more souls since the 1990 Census count.

Nationwide, Rutherford County ranked 65th for the 100 fastest growing counties in the country, with a 32.7 percent jump, with 59,439 more people, making their total population estimate at 241,462 for 2007. The count for 2000 was estimated at 182,023.

Williamson County came in 75th place on the national list, with growth of 31.2 percent. An additional 39,490 people live there now, making the count of 126,638 in 2000 rise to 166,128 by July 1 of last year.

For other area counties during the past seven years, the Census Bureau estimated that Coffee County's population has increased by a little more than seven percent to around 51,741.

Franklin County's head count has increased by about 4.7 percent to 41,207; however, Warren County, which has been hard hit by employment losses over the past several years, has only grown by about 3.3 percent since 2000, with 39,690 as the estimated population.

According to the Census numbers, in 2006-2007, 70 of the 100 fastest-growing counties were in the South, with 22 in the West and eight in the Midwest.

Among the 100 fastest-growing counties, more than one-third were in either Georgia (18) or Texas (16). Texas was home to 11 counties among the 25 with the highest numerical gains. Each of the top 25 was in the South or West.

St. Bernard and Orleans, two Louisiana parishes hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, were the nation's fastest-growing counties in 2007, according to the federal population estimates. St. Bernard was the nation's fastest-losing county from 2005 to 2006 -- it experienced a 42.9 percent population increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, upping its population by almost 6,000. Orleans' population rose by 13.8 percent, or nearly 29,000.

Maricopa County, Ariz., home of Phoenix, was the top numerical gainer, increasing by 102,000 people between 2006 and 2007, as well as the largest numeric increase from 2000 to 2007, adding 808,000 residents. Among the 10 counties that added the largest number of residents between 2006 and 2007, half were in Texas, two in North Carolina, and one each in California and Nevada.

The fastest-growing county in the country was Kendall, Ill., with a population growth of 77.5 percent from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2007. Los Angeles, Calif., remained the most populous county, with a July 1, 2007, population of 9.9 million, a decline of 2,000 residents from 2006.