The Census Bureau put Cache's 2006 population at 98,662. But the northern Utah county maintains the actual count is closer to 106,000, placing it behind Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber and Washington among the state's counties with six-digit populations.

"The county will gain around 7,500 approximately in numbers if the challenge is accepted," Cache County Director of Development Services Wendell Morse said. "We have no reason to believe the challenge won't be accepted based on the data."

Those extra heads mean extra bucks for Cache's 19 cities and the county when it comes time to divvy federal money.

"It will help Cache County get its correct share," Morse said. "We'll be getting more of what we deserve."

With the Oct. 1 challenge deadline looming, county officials say their numbers, which include building permits issued last year, support their population claim.

"The [Census Bureau] formula base apparently works somewhere in the United States, but it doesn't work well where communities are growing rapidly," Morse said. "The formula seems to be driven by states in the East that aren't experiencing huge growth."

Cache's 106,000 count means the county has swelled by 16 percent since 2000 and 51 percent since 1990.

Utah County's Eagle Mountain already has prevailed in its census challenge. West Jordan, the state's fourth-largest city, also is fighting for a higher figure.

North Logan City Administrator Jeff Jorgensen argues revenue disbursements should be based on more accurate numbers than the census provides. He urged the Utah Association of Counties and the League of Cities and Towns to lobby the Legislature to switch to more reliable population estimates generated by the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.

"Why do we even use the U.S. Census Bureau numbers when they're not as accurate?" he asked. "And, if they [cities] challenge, it just messes everyone else over."

But North Logan Mayor Cary Watkins suggests achieving such a change would take a united effort.

"It will be tough sledding to get the Legislature to change this," Watkins said. "We need to have some help here. I suggest we all get together and push this."

abrunson@sltrib.com