Provo is livin' large again.

In June, the U.S. Census Bureau removed Provo from its 2004 list of American "large cities" and declared it had only 99,624 residents.

Four months later, the bureau says Provo has 111,718 residents — although the bureau's Web site lags behind, still listing the smaller number Friday.

How's that for immigration?

Of course, Provo's position was that it was growing all along, not shrinking. After the June announcement, Mayor Lewis Billings immediately said he would challenge the census data because city demographers believed Provo was home to between 110,000 and 115,000 people.

The revised estimate draws Provo nearly even with West Valley City in the hotly contested race for second-largest city in Utah, behind Salt Lake City. In fact, Provo had hoped to move ahead of West Valley. Provo contended in the challenge filed with the Census Bureau that Provo's population last year reached 115,112, while West Valley City is listed at nearly 113,000.

Provo's yo-yoing population numbers may seem a silly distraction, but they can have serious implications. Back in June, Billings suggested the lower estimate could force city officials to raise taxes.

"This has important impacts on the distribution of federal transportation monies and state income tax monies," Billings said in a written statement released Friday.

The annual Census Bureau estimates are just that, estimates. They are not as reliable as the census conducted every 10 years — Provo had 105,166 residents at the last census count in 2000 — but they are used by state and federal officials who distribute sales tax funds, road funds and gas tax money.

The Census Bureau attributed its decision to revise Provo's estimate upwards to corrected calculations.

"This difference is due to a correction made to the number of building permits used in calculating the housing unit estimate and a correction to the population living in group quarters," wrote Louisa F. Miller, acting chief of the bureau's population division.

Provo believes the dispute is centered elsewhere.

"I think the real difference is in our estimates of group quarters, including facilities such as the (LDS) Missionary Training Center, nursing homes and student dorms," director of community development Gary McGinn said. "It's gratifying to know that the Census Bureau and Provo city are fairly close in our estimates to the actual population of Provo city."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com