LITTLE ROCK -- Counties in northwest and central Arkansas are growing the fastest while counties in east Arkansas are losing the most in population, according to census estimates released Wednesday.

In a report that surprises no one here, the census agency said Faulkner County had the second-highest growth rate in the state, increasing from 60,006 people to 80,034.

"I think that will be a little low," said Lloyd Westbrook, president of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce. "If Conway is around 45,000, which we think it is, then as a general rule, about half of the population is in the county and about half in Conway.

"If the areas outside Conway are growing, I will guess, and this is just a guess, I think we are between 85,000 to 90,000 or in that range. I think we are well over 85,000."

He said from 1990-97, Faulkner County was the second fastest-growing county in the state at 27.6 percent.

Conway population estimates are based on the number of Conway Corp. residential electrical customers multiplied by an average of 2.6 occupants per unit.

The state's most populous county, Pulaski, showed a slight decline, less than 1 percent, while four adjacent counties were among the fastest growing -- Faulkner, up by 33 percent; Lonoke, 31 percent; Saline, 22; and Perry, 21.

The growing areas have plenty of jobs, and tax revenues are increasing. But the extra people also mean some growing pains.

Lonoke County Judge Carol Bevis said most of its growth in his county has been in its northern portion in the Cabot area.

"It's wonderful, but it also brings problems," Bevis said.

Lonoke County, which jumped from 39,268 to 51,447, will benefit from the extra taxes being paid to the county, but with expansion come added expenses, Bevis said.

"We've built four elementary schools, a junior high school and expanded the high school several times in the last four years," Bevis said. "That leads to staffing problems because we need more people in the cafeteria and more people to drive buses."

Lonoke County and three others abutting Pulaski County and four counties in the northwestern corner of the state are among the fastest-growing counties in Arkansas, according to new data.

Benton County, which borders Missouri and Oklahoma in Arkansas' northwestern corner, has the highest growth rate in the state, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 1999. It saw a 42 percent increase from the 1990 census to the 1999 estimate, climbing from 97,530 people to 138,424.

"We're not keeping up" in terms of services and schools, Benton County Judge Cary Anderson said.

Anderson predicted a 5 percent growth every year for the next 10 years and said the county's infrastructure -- such as roads, water and sewer -- is falling behind.

"We're reviewing the things we need to do to maintain the quality of life we have. But I believe this county has enough wide open space to preserve this. It's a big county," Anderson said.