I got an e-mail today from a Bee reader who said: "It's nice to see my town of Coalinga on the list" of the state's fastest growing cities. (Coalinga is ninth on the fastest-growing list.) But the "growth is misleading."

The reader pointed out -- correctly -- that the state counts prison population in the city totals. Coalinga is home to Pleasant Valley State Prison and Coalinga State Hospital, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital.

So I did some checking on how much of the city's growth is due to prison growth. Here's what I found out from the state:

• Coalinga's total population is 19,063.
• The city's "free population," meaning those not in prison or other "group quarters," is 12,185.
• The good news, I guess, is that the free population grew more last year than the confined population -- by 611, compared with 445 more for the confined.

• Lancaster, in Los Angeles County, gained the the most prison population last year. (+665)
• Blyte, in Riverside County, lost the most. (-1,122)
• Overall, the state's total prison population declined for the first time since 2001, down 3,725 to 190,234, according to the Department of Finance, which publishes the population numbers. Keep in mind that under a new policy the state is shipping more prisoners to other states. As of March, 3,178 inmates were sent packing. (Not that they have much to pack.)