The Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor remained the fastest growing area of New Mexico, with Sandoval County increasing its population almost 3 percent from July 2008 to July 2009.

Numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday indicate Sandoval County's growth rate was the fastest as it added 3,523 new residents, followed by Doña Ana County, which grew by 2.5 percent or 4,991 people.

Sandoval also remains the fastest growing county since April 1, 2000 — adding 35,404 people so far this decade, an increase of almost 40 percent.

The Census Bureau estimated that Santa Fe County's population now stands at 147,532, an increase of 1.5 percent from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2009. Since 2000, Santa Fe County has added 18,237 people, an increase of 14 percent, the Census estimates.

Fourteen New Mexico counties lost people during the 2008-09 period, including Los Alamos, which saw a decline of 166 residents — almost 1 percent — as a result of cutbacks at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

So far this decade, De Baca County, which includes Fort Sumner, has shrunk the most, losing 18.8 percent of its population, which now stands at 1,819, according to the Census Bureau.

The estimates are based on 2000 Census data and updated by using official records such as births, deaths, and domestic and international migration.

The new estimates are not 2010 Census population counts, but represent the last estimates using 2000 Census results as a base.