Census Bureau says San Benito's population is 24,500. Local leaders disagree.

SAN BENITO, TEXAS - While the U.S. Census Bureau lists the population of San Benito, Texas, at around 24,500, local leaders believe the real figure is closer to 40,000.They believe the Census Bureau undercounted the city’s residents by a large margin in 2010 and are determined this does not happen again in 2020. “The census is very important to us. We have decided to be very proactive. We believe we were undercounted and we do not want that to happen again,” said San Benito City Manager Manny De La Rosa.“So, we have partnered with the school district, with the housing authority, with LUPE, to ensure everybody knows about the census. We are holding block parties, community groups are meeting regularly, we are meeting with the county and with various stakeholders. We are getting the word out.”De La Rosa gave his comments during an exclusive livestream interview with the Rio Grande Guardian last week. The attached podcast is based upon that livestream.San Benito was just about the only city in the Rio Grande Valley that did not show a significant increase in population after the 2010 census was taken. According to the Census Bureau, its population in 2000 was 24,055. The same agency said its population in 2010 was 24,250, an increase over the decade of just 0.81 percent.This “standing still” statistic contrasts sharply with neighboring communities. Between 2000 and 2010, Brownsville’s population grew 22.45 percent, according to the Census Bureau. The same agency reported that Harlingen’s population grew 6.69 percent over the same period. Los Fresnos’ population grew 22.8 percent between 2000 and 2010 and La Feria’s grew by 6.47 percent over the same period.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.