CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The tiny coalfield community of Sylvester has a one-officer police department, seven churches and about 40 street lights. What it doesn't have is the 458 people the latest U.S. Census Bureau population estimates says it has.
"I wish it were true," said three-term mayor Manny Arvon, who estimates his town only has 195 residents. "We have a wonderful community if you don't blink your eyes."
The Boone County community is about 4/5 of a mile long and has about 96 houses. Arvon guesses the latest census population estimate, which covers the period between July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008, includes houses on the hillside outside the city's corporation limits.
"If you count the surrounding area, it's probably 600," he said Wednesday.
The number of houses do figure in how the census estimates a community's population, but only those located within a city's corporation limits are counted, said Greg Harper, a demographer for the Census Bureau. The agency bases population estimates on existing structures and building permits.