Growth from the Austin area may be poised to spread north toward Lampasas County, as Round Rock in 2009 ranked as the United States’ eighth-fastest growing city with a population of 100,000 or more.

A U.S. Census Bureau report based on 2009 population estimates projected Round Rock’s population last year to be 105,412 -- 3.4 percent greater than in 2008. Round Rock grew by about 8 percent from 2007 to 2008 and by 5.2 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to Census Bureau estimates.

The rate of population increase is estimated to have slowed recently, however, in Lampasas County and in the Killeen-Fort Hood area.

After increasing in population by an estimated 1.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, Lampasas experienced a growth rate of 0.7 percent from 2007 to 2008 and neither increased nor decreased in population from 2008 to 2009, according to Census Bureau estimates. Lampasas’ projected 2009 population is 7,821.

Kempner’s population decreased from 1,169 in 2008 to 1,166 in 2009, and the number of Lometa residents decreased from 886 to 883 during the same period, according to the report.

Copperas Cove -- which posted a 3 percent population gain from 2006 to 2007 and a 1.7 percent in- crease from 2007 to 2008 -- is estimated to have declined in population from 30,916 to 30,806 in 2009, a decrease of 0.3 percent.

Growth continued in Killeen in 2009, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. The city added 667 residents -- for a total population of 119,510 -- last year, according to Census Bureau estimates. That 0.5 percent increase, however, lagged behind the population gains of 3.6 percent and 6.4 percent in 2008 and 2007, respectively.

To view a full list of 2009 population estimates for towns in all 50 states, visit www.census.gov/ popest/cities/SUB-EST2009- states.html.