EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Data from the State Department of Administration showed Wisconsin's population in 2022 climbed by .98%. The population of Eau Claire jumped by 2.7%, making the city in western Wisconsin the seventh most populous city statewide.

"Eau Claire really strives to be a welcoming community, whether it be people moving from a big city and looking for a smaller city like Eau Claire," said Eau Claire City Council President Emily Burge. "Or people moving from rural Wisconsin and they want to be closer to health care, shopping or jobs and they want to move to Eau Claire."

With it's new estimated population topping 71,000 people, Burge acknowledged that the work continues to make sure there's enough housing citywide going forward.

"We're trying — that's part of our mission to be a welcoming community," Burge said. "We would like to be a place that no matter your income or where you are in life, you'll have options to live and have a home for you, and so we're trying hard to build that, whether [that's] apartments or single family homes."

Watch the full interview above.