Brentwood's Growing Population Leads to More Diversity, Revenue

The city of Brentwood will receive more revenue from the state and pay fewer sales taxes to the county over the next 10 years than it did between 2000-10.

That's because the city grew by 363 people (4.7 percent) between 2000-10, .

"We're very happy with that. We weren't sure what to expect," City Administrator Chris Seemayer said. "The earlier estimates had it lower."

The state of Missouri has funding techniques to distribute money to municipalities, and a city's population plays a large role in the procedure, Seemayer said. Even a modest increase of residents—which results in a modest increase in funding—could help the city pay for residential services.

And because the city's population grew while , Brentwood will send fewer sales taxes to the county, Seemayer said.

Seemayer attributes the growth to an improved Brentwood.

"It shows we have a good city," he said. "It shows the city has done some things over the past 10 years."

The city's population also grew more diverse in the past 10 years.

Brentwood went from 139 black residents and 268 Asian residents in 2000 to 250 black residents and 547 Asian residents in 2010, a jump of 1.3 percent and 3.32 percent, respectively. The total percentage of minority residents shifted from 7.31 in 2000 percent to 12.51 percent in 2010.

Seemayer said a diverse population has always worked, shopped and dined in Brentwood, but thinks more non-white college students are moving to the city.

He said he thinks residential areas that were built in the past 10 years— in 2002 and in 2009—attracted the students.