Staten Island is mainly known for suburban living, but several developers have been trying to change that, building waterfront projects to attract the young professionals moving to other parts of the city. 

However, new census figures show the island still hasn't grown much, adding just 10,700 residents since 2010.

"It's a complex and delicate mix of things that you need to stimulate growth and interest in people locating in your community," said Jonathan Peters of the College of Staten Island. "Staten Island has many of the pieces. It may not have all of them."

Staten Island's growth pales next to the population boom in the other boroughs over the same period. 

The Bronx enjoys the largest growth rate, more than 6 percent, adding 86,000 people. Brooklyn has the largest increase in numbers, expanding by 144,000, an increase of 5.75 percent. Queens and Manhattan are not far behind percentage-wise.

Some Staten Island boosters are surprised.

"There's been tremendous interest in the borough, so it sounds like a little bit of a low number to me," said Ron Molcho of the Staten Island Board of Realtors. "It sounds a little surprising, quite frankly." 

The biggest roadblock to growth on Staten Island is a robust transit system. The island's residents here face some of the longest commutes in the country.

"Our access to transit is very poor," Peters said. "Most of the transit on Staten Island is bus. All of those things work against having young people move in. The other thing is the job base. The job base out here is relatively weak compared to other parts of the city." 

The low growth rate could have political repercussions. Staten Islanders have long complained about their clout in City Hall and Albany compared to other parts of the city, but the disparty could increase if the population trends continue.

The borough also could lose standing in Washington. Staten Island makes up about 70 percent of the 11th Congressional District. The rest is in Brooklyn. However, as Brooklyn's growth outpaces Staten Island's, Brooklyn's share of the district will grow, too.  

"For years, it was the Staten Island congressional position. Maybe in the future it will be sort of the Staten Island Congressional seat," Peters said.