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Nearly half of all Wisconsin counties declined in population from 2013 to 2014, according to population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The figures showed continued population decline in Wisconsin's rural counties, a trend largely driven by migration out of those counties.

Of the 35 counties in decline, Manitowoc County lost the most people — 463 — from July 2013 to July 2014, followed by Wood and Adams, which declined by 336 and 289 people, respectively.

Adams shrank the fastest, losing 1.4% of its population.

At a population of 101,564, Eau Claire was the largest county to lose population in the period examined — 140 people.

However, that county has grown by 2,546 people since 2010.

DATABASE: Search for population data on any U.S. county

Milwaukee County experienced the slightest of population increases, growing by 20 people to 956,406 total population. The new figures show a dramatic slowdown in the county's growth. Previously, it gained roughly 3,000 people in both 2011 and 2012, and 1,800 people in 2013.

Milwaukee's neighboring counties fared slightly better. Waukesha County grew by 1,178 to 395,118 people, and Washington and Ozaukee counties increased by 505 and 375 people, respectively.

Overall, 37 counties in the state grew slightly in population. Dane County grew by the widest margin, gaining 6,257 people to reach a population of 516,284.

Menominee County grew the fastest with a 3.2% increase to 4,522 people.

Wisconsin as a whole gained an estimated 14,611 (0.25%) people from 2013 to 2014 for a total population of 5,757,564. The state has gained 68,296 (1.2%) people since 2010.

Only about one-third of counties in the state saw positive migration — more people moving into a county than out of it. Half of Dane County's population increase came from migration, and it's one of only two counties to have experienced significant positive migration for the past five years. In total, Dane has grown by 27,277 people since 2010 — a 5.6% increase.

Some counties managed small population increases despite people moving out of the county, and they did it the old-fashioned way: more births than deaths.

For example, Milwaukee County gained 20 people overall despite losing about 5,700 people to migration by having far more births than deaths.

The Milwaukee metropolitan area ranked 39th among all U.S. metro areas in population in 2014 with 1,572,245 people, an increase of 2,078 from 2013.

However, when it came to growth rate, the area ranked 45th on a list of the 53 metro areas with at least 1 million population. St. Louis, Cincinnati and Kansas City fared better, but Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland saw less growth.

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To explore a database that shows population changes among Wisconsin counties, go to jsonline.com/data.