Cranston is two-for-two.

The city remains Rhode Island’s second most populated community for the second consecutive year, according to the latest data released by U.S. Census Bureau.

The figures put Cranston’s population as of July 1, 2018, at 81,274, an increase of 240 over the 2017 estimate.

By comparison, Warwick – which Cranston passed in population for the first time based on last year’s estimates – had an estimated 80,847 residents for July 1, 2018. That represents an increase of 50 people over the prior year.

The second-largest-city status has been the focus of a “friendly rivalry” between civic leaders in Cranston and Warwick in recent years.

“Thanks to my entire team for helping to make this incredible transformation happen,” Cranston Mayor Allan Fung wrote on Twitter. He also reprised a joking request regarding when he will be assigned the “2000” license plate for his vehicle, which currently bears the “3000” plate signifying Cranston’s place as the state’s third most populous community based on the 2010 census.

Speaking to the Herald in 2017 regarding the population rivalry with Warwick, Fung said: “I’m very excited to see our growth continuing in Cranston and there is no sign that it will be slowing down anytime soon. People are flocking to our city because we offer a great quality of life, good schools, nice parks, wonderful restaurants, great shops and fantastic services. All of these qualities make people want to live here – after all, we are one of the top 50 cities to live in America.”

Overall, the latest estimates indicate the state’s population increased by just less than 1,000 people – from 1,056,486 to 1,057,315 – between 2017 and 2018. Providence, the state’s capital and largest city, saw its population decrease from 179,503 to 179,335, according to the figures.

The population estimates for other neighboring communities remained largely steady. Johnston’s estimated population rose from 29,250 to 29,322 between 2017 and 2018, while West Warwick’s population remained virtually unchanged, 28,870 to 28,874.

Coventry saw an increase in its population estimate from 34,577 to 34,698, while the number of Scituate residents rose slightly, from 10,611 to 10,658.