Kansas City, Mo. ? Kansas City has added more than 25,000 residents to its official population.

The city announced Friday that it had successfully appealed to the U.S. Census Bureau to increase its population to nearly 476,000.

City Manager Wayne Cauthen says the numbers are important because state and federal officials take population information into account when deciding how to allocate certain types of funding.

In challenging the original Census numbers, Cauthen had cited a study conducted by Social Compact Inc.

The Washington, D.C.-based coalition works to encourage private investment in inner-city neighborhoods.