Limhamn grew rapidly in the last decades of the 19th century: to 2,500 inhabitants in 1886, to 8,000 in 1905, when Limhamn was declared a town, and to 10,000 in 1915 when Limhamn was incorporated with the larger town of Malmö (democratically but narrowly decided by the town council). The next increase of the population started with the industrial boom after World War II, when a few blocks of flats were built. From the late 1950s a belt of new detached houses led to Limhamn physically growing together with Malmö. Locals dispute which of these new neighbourhoods really are parts of Limhamn proper, and which are to be rightfully counted with Malmö, which is why figures for Limhamn's present-day population vary approximately in the range 20,000–24,000. Industry has mostly closed down in the late 20th century, and most people now work elsewhere in the metropolitan area that covers most of Western Scania.