New, preliminary population estimates released by the Washington Office of Financial Management show relatively modest increases in the number of residents in Jefferson County in the past two years.

County and city officials were given the preliminary population estimates last week.

The April 1, 2022 estimates were shared for administrative review by elected officials and are subject to change, State Demographer Mike Mohrman noted in his letter to local leaders.

The numbers are based on housing and population changes from 2020 to 2022.

Jefferson County’s population, as estimated in the 2020 Census, grew from 32,977 in 2020 to 33,100 in 2021 — an increase of 123.

Jefferson County’s population was estimated at 33,350 for April 2022, up by 250 from 2021, and an increase of 372 from the 2020 Census estimate.

The population of the unincorporated area of the county was estimated at 23,060 in 2022; up from 180 the year before from the 2021 estimate of 22,880. The population of the unincorporated area was estimated at 22,829 in the 2020 Census.

Port Townsend’s population estimate in the 2020 Census was 10,148.

Washington state put Port Townsend’s population at 10,220 in 2021 — an increase of 72 over 2020.

The population of Jefferson County’s only incorporated city was estimated at 10,290 in 2022; an uptick of 148 people since 2020.

Local and county officials must suggest revisions by June 21.

State officials noted that the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people living in group settings — such as college dorms, jails, and other residential settings — into the household population in 2021. Officials noted that some institutions have not returned to their pre-pandemic levels.

Mohrman also stressed that the 2020 Census “was conducted under extraordinary circumstances,” adding that the release of some data from the Census was not available at the time the April 2022 estimates were prepared.

Only two counties — Whitman and Columbia — dropped in population between 2020 and 2022, according to the draft estimates.

Washington’s largest city, Seattle, grew from 737,015  in 2020 to 762,500 in 2022, according to the state estimate. That’s an increase of 25,485.

The state’s total population grew by 158,065 in the past two years, according to the draft figures, from 7,706,310 residents in 2020 to 7,864,375 in 2022.

Most of Washington’s population, roughly 65.5 percent, live in cities. The state’s draft estimate of the number of city dwellers in 2022 is 5,155,988, with the unincorporated population pegged at 2,708,387.