The Town of Mills Attains City Status

The Town of Mills is now a city, although it will keep the town name for the time being.

After collecting census and other data, Mills reached the 4,000-population definition of a city and was declared such by Gov. Mark Gordon in a proclamation he signed.

“The Town of Mills has grown quite a bit in the many years I have lived here and appreciated calling Mills home," Mayor Seth Coleman said in a prepared statement.

"This is such a great accomplishment to have grown to this recognizable size and to have Governor Mark Gordon certify us as such," Coleman said.

To reach the 4,000-population threshold, the town drew on a variety of statistics, starting with U.S. Census Bureau data released in May.

The new information showed the town had an estimated population of 3,979 in July 2019.

Since January, the town had issued 17 residential building permits. The average household size, according to the Census Bureau, is 2.31 people.

That brought the May 2020 population to 4,018.

However, that data did not take into account the number of building permits issued from August through December.

Besides the building permit data, Mills annexed 143 properties from Natrona County. The annexations enabled Mills and the county to eliminate vague property lines and to facilitate better policing and first responder action.

The annexations also meant 200 more people became residents of Mills.

The census counts, building permits (not including those issued from August through December), and the annexations raised the population to 4,179.

Back in 2010, the U.S. Census estimated Mills population at 3,461.

Since then, 378 lots have been developed, according to building permits, Factor the census average household size harboring 2.31 people, that put the Mills population at 4,334 residents.