DeSoto County’s population has reached the 150,000 mark for the first time, new U.S. Census Bureau estimates are expected to show.

An examination of growth patterns thus far this decade make it likely the county has become the third county in Mississippi with 150,000 residents or more, according to a report Monday in The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn.

DeSoto and Sumner County, Tenn., would be the 13th and 14th counties in the three state region of Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee to reach 150,000 people, according to the newspaper.

In recent years, census estimates have placed DeSoto County among the nation’s top 100 fastest-growing counties.

The new estimates coming from the Census Bureau will show population estimates as of July 1, 2007. Figures for July 1, 2006, showed DeSoto County with 144,706 people. Annual increases in recent years have been more than 6,000.

The 2006 estimates showed Hinds County at 249,012. Harrison County was in second place at 171,875.