Waymart Borough is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the state ... or maybe not.
The federal Census Bureau released its latest population estimates last Wednesday for municipalities throughout the U.S. Waymart Borough allegedly gained an incredible 1,693 new residents from 2000 to 2008, making it the third fastest growing Pa. municipality by percentage gain, census figures show. A total of 3,135 people now apparently live within the confines of its boundary.
The borough would also beat every single Wayne County town and village in terms of population growth over the eight-year span.
Most places in the county registered negligible gains and some losses. Mount Pleasant Township, for example, nabbed 95 new residents from 2000 to 2008; Honesdale lost 167.
But not so fast on declaring Waymart a champion of expansion say local planning officials, who point to the federal prison and a misplaced statistic that is giving the borough much more population credit than it is due.
Edward J. Coar, director of the Wayne County planning commission, said the census bureau is counting the prison population at the federal penitentiary, creating most of that dramatic population gain in the borough.
And it’s a direct error since the prison is actually located in Canaan Township not Waymart Borough, he said.
“The growth has not been in the boroughs,” said Coar. “We know that it is not true.”
By removing the prison population mistake, Waymart Borough would settle around a more realistic number of about 1,427 residents, as measured by the census bureau before the prison opened its doors in 2005. That would in fact be two less people than where the population stood at the 2000 census.
And Canaan Township would actually jump to 3,722 residents, if the federal prison population is included.
“There’s no new housing development in Waymart. There’s no influx of people or conversion of apartments,” said Jane Varcoe, a borough councilwoman and member of the planning commission. “There’s something totally wrong with” the statistic.
Greg Harper, of the bureau’s local government estimates branch, maintained that the data reveals an increase in the borough’s population for those living in so-called “Group Quarters” - prisons, college dorms and military barracks.
“It's possible there was a coding error in the report that we received from our state contact for the (Group Quarters) population in Pennsylvania,” said Harper. “But our estimates our based on the data that we receive.”
This line of thought, however, holds to the mistaken geography of the federal prison. The state prison is also located in Canaan Township.
Varcoe said she told the census bureau about the prison mistake when it first surfaced on the bureau’s 2005 population estimate.
As did Coar. It remains on the official books, nonetheless.
“These are estimates.  They reflect the best guesses the census bureau can do from the information they have,” said Coar. “The true story as to whether or not they are accurate will not be known until the 2010 census information is released in 2011.”
The 2010 census is a more deliberate attempt to measure population growth nationwide. It is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to occur every 10 years.
The Waymart error, however, does not discount the other county population estimates, which should be “close” to the figures revealed by the 2010 census, said Coar.

Wayne County Population Data

**Provided by the U.S. Census Bureau
**change in population from 2000 - 2008

Wayne County (+)
2008 - 52,016
2000 - 47,894

Berlin (+)
2008 - 2,373
2000 - 2,196

Bethany (-)
2008 - 282
2000 - 292

Buckingham (+)
2008 - 675
2000 - 658

Canaan (+*)
2008 - 2,012
2000 - 1,920

Cherry Ridge (+)
2008 - 1,923
2000 - 1,827

Clinton (+)
2008 - 2,028
2000 - 1,934

Damascus (+)
2008 - 3,859
2000 - 3,678

Dreher (+)
2008 - 1,311
2000 - 1,283

Dyberry (+)
2008 - 1,373
2000 - 1,356

Hawley (-)
2008 - 1,299
2000 - 1,305

Honesdale (-)
2008 - 4,720
2000 - 4,887

Lake (+)
2008 - 4,738
2000 - 4,380

Lebanon (+)
2008 - 720
2000 - 648

Lehigh (-)
2008 - 1,640
2000 - 1,644

Manchester (+)
2008 - 922
2000 - 892

Mount Pleasant (+)
2008 - 1,446
2000 - 1,351

Oregon (+)
2008 - 797
2000 - 748

Palmyra (+)
2008 - 1,455
2000 - 1,133

Paupack (+)
2008 - 3,394
2000 - 2,974

Preston (+)
2008 - 1,132
2000 - 1,110

Prompton (-)
2008 - 237
2000 - 243

Salem (+)
2008 - 3,938
2000 - 3,676

Scott (+) 
2008 - 701
2000 - 672

South Canaan (+)
2008 - 1,760
2000 - 1,669

Starrucca (+)
2008 - 224
2000 - 217

Sterling (+)
2008 - 1,380
2000 - 1,258

Texas (+)
2008 - 2,542
2000 - 2,511

Waymart (+*)
2008 - 3,125
2000 - 1,432

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Scranton City (-)
2008 - 72,233
2000 - 75,845

Carbondale City (-)
2008 - 9,208
2000 - 9,773

East Stroudsburg (+)
2008 - 10,390
2000 - 9,903

Stroudsburg (+)
2008 - 6,294 
2000 - 5,778