Well, we haven't gained as much as we thought we lost, but a plus is a plus. Boston is accumulating, not losing, population. (Not only that, statewide, the economy is growing at double the national rate. This is a lot of good news for a slow news day.)

The population increase shouldn't be all that surprising. The US has hit the 300 million mark. All those people have to live somewhere and it's more likely to be here than Nebraska.

...More than half of Americans live within 50 miles of the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Great Lakes coasts on just a fifth of the country's land area, according to the Center for Environment and Population, a research and policy group that's based in New Canaan, Conn.

This article in USA Today sees baby boomer retirement as having a big impact on population shifts in coming years.

UPDATE: Another take on Boston's population numbers and the change from I128.