A county planner is looking at trends in population growth for two towns, Hapville and Merton. The population of Hapville in the year 2000 was 18,000. Since then, the population has increased at a steady rate of 500 per year.
The population of Merton is increasing according to the equation y=12,000(1.04)t , where y = the population in thousands and t = the number of years since the year 2000.
If these trends continue, how will the populations of the two towns compare in 2030?