The population of Pahrump dropped by 0.1 percent -- 42 residents -- in the first quarter of 2008.

That is the first drop in population since Nye County planners began keeping statistics.

The estimate is that the Pahrump population dropped from 38,859 residents as of Dec. 31, 2007, to 38,817 by March 31, 2008.

The population in Pahrump had grown at a 3.5 percent clip in the first quarter of 2006, but growth rates slowed to about 1 percent each in the first three quarters of 2007, slowing to 0.2 percent in the last quarter.

Nye County as a whole lost 77 residents in the first quarter, dropping 0.2 percent, from 46,850 residents to 46,773, according to Nye County planning estimates.

Tonopah lost eight residents, down from 2,911 residents to 2,903.

Beatty had 16 fewer residents, dropping to 1,052.

Amargosa Valley lost two people, with a revised population estimate of 1,393 residents.

"I have been putting together numbers on this project since 1999 and I've never seen it drop like that," said county Planner Kelly Harris.

Nye County planners use the number of electrical hookups multiplied times the average number of persons per household as determined in the 2000 census to calculate the population living in households.

The population living in group quarters, like nursing homes and detention facilities, are estimated using a trending factor, which is checked annually.