(12-10-2018, 11:11 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: Waterloo let anxiety over no longer being a tiny town get in their heads (as if the 10th largest region in Canada could ever be considered a small town), and we saw their signs at 99,000 for ages before boosting up to 130,000 or so more recently. Equivalent would be Kitchener hanging at ~240,000 and then only switching when they got to around 320,000. I also don't know if the Waterloo number includes the student population, which is in the tens upon tens of thousands, and is present in the city on an annualized basis of still tens upon tens of thousands.
I know this is an older post:
As long as I rememeber, Waterloo's population sign was at 119,000 for the longest time on the Expressway then actually went down to 105,000 (or 110,000?). As for its population, its 2006 census was 98,000, 2011 was 99,000 and 2016 was 105,000 (rounding up to the nearest 1,000). Its population on some of the signs include student population -- many that are counted twice, once for the census (if they live in Waterloo) and once again as a student, and include students that don't live in Waterloo (students living in Kitchener or commute from nearby). As far as I know, Waterloo's current population (excluding non-resident students and no double counting) is about 108,000 at the end of 2018 -- but it's nowhere close to what they have posted and is off by a good 30%.
The Kitchener signs are based on the census closed to the nearest 1,000 -- though they do occasionally update. I think I saw a sign that said 255,000 -- which is 18,000 more than the 2016 census. Though from my information, the population is closer to 248,000 at the end of 2018 so perhaps 252,000 is close. It's population was 205,000 in 2006, 220,000 in 2011 and 234,000 in 2016. If the sign DID read 252,000, then it might be off by 1 or 2%.
Including a pic of the old Waterloo population sign (it's a few years old and has gone done since then).