"Growth" is not the word that comes to mind when one sees the Census Bureau's latest population estimates for Roanoke.

"Minimal" best describes the change, except for a couple of highlights.

The number of Hispanic people in the Roanoke metro area increased 65 percent -- faster than the statewide average -- between 2000 and 2006, according to Census Bureau estimates made public today.

The Hispanic numbers were strong enough to match up with BB&T Bank's experience in offering services aimed at Spanish-speaking customers. A.C. McGraw, BB&T's regional spokeswoman, said the bank's two branches in Roanoke that offer specialty services to Hispanics have noted moderate growth in household accounts -- enough to justify continuing the service.

Hispanics now make up 1.8 percent of the Roanoke metro area's population. That's up from 1.1 percent in 2000, making them the fastest-growing minority group.

Locally, Roanoke County probably caught up with Roanoke in population this year if the estimates are on target.

The city's population last year was down by more than 3,000 people since the last official count in 2000, while Roanoke County had grown by 4,700.

If Roanoke declined this year at the rate it has followed the previous six years, its current population probably is about 91,000.

And if Roanoke County continued the increase it has shown in recent years, its population likely is about 91,000 as well. Those trends won't be confirmed until August 2008, when the Census Bureau releases its next round of estimates.

The latest census data estimated populations for counties and cities as of July 1, 2006. The numbers are based on births, deaths and migration as detected through changes of address on income tax returns.

The strongest growth in the Roanoke region was noted in two counties that adjoin Smith Mountain Lake. Bedford County's population is up 10 percent in six years, and Franklin County has grown by 7 percent, matching growth trends that occurred between 1990 and 2000.

Overall, growth in the Roanoke region was slow compared with the rest of Virginia. The state's population has increased 8 percent since 2000, but the Roanoke metro area's rate was just 2.3 percent.

In the New River Valley, the growth reflected in the Census numbers was just 0.7 percent. However, the Census Bureau's methods for estimating college communities often fail to capture a good count of students and other transitory groups during years between the formal head counts done every 10 years.