New estimates released by the Census Bureau show the Kansas population grew by more than 18,000 residents between April 2010 and July 2011.

The figures released Wednesday estimate the Kansas population to be more than 2,870,000, a gain of 0.6 percent from the official count released a year earlier. The rate of growth ranked 32nd in the nation.

Kansas’ percentage of growth was better than Missouri and Iowa, but not as strong as Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Arkansas.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has stated during his first year in office that he wants to slow, if not reverse, declining population in rural areas. He has enacted programs to entice new residents to those areas through tuition repayment and income tax breaks for qualified applicants.