If the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimates are correct, Freeborn County lost about 1,700 people in the past 10 years.

Freeborn County’s population, according the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that were released Monday, shrunk from about 32,584 in 2000 to 30,897 in 2010.

Estimates are released annually and should not be confused with census counts, which come out every 10 years. The counts are considered more precise than the estimates.

Mower County’s population is projected to have gone down by more than 250 people, according to Census Bureau estimates. The county’s projected 2010 population was 38,356, slightly down from the 38,603 people the 2000 census showed lived in Mower County.

Estimates show Steele County’s grown from about 33,680 people in 2000 to more than 36,570, which pales in comparison to Olmsted County’s growth of more than 20,000 people over the past 10 years to a projected population of 145,269.

Faribault County lost more than 1,800 people. It shrunk from 16,181 in 2000 to 14,344 in 2010, according to the estimates.

Waseca County stayed about the same. It went from 19,526 to 19,363.

Blue Earth County, where Mankato is the seat, grew by about 5,500 from 55,941 to 61,451.

The Census Bureau will compare these estimates with the official 2010 census counts once every state’s data has been released. Minnesota’s census counts are expected to be out by April 1.

South of the Iowa border, Winnebago County went from 11,723 to 10,599, according to the estimates. Worth County went from 7,909 to 7,560.