Census Bureau Releases 2020 Census Apportionment Data

On April 26, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the first major results from the 2020 Census— state population counts used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The results included the following:

• The resident U.S. population (as of April 1, 2020) is 331,449,281 million.
• This number represents a 7.4% increase over the 2010 Census population total.
• While the nation’s population has increased since the last decennial census, the growth rate was lower than the increase that the nation experienced between the 2000 and 2010 Census. In fact, the rate of growth between 2010 and 2020 is the second lowest rate of growth that the nation has experienced since the census began in 1790.
• In terms of the number of congressional seats each state gained or lost, Texas gained the most (2 seats), while 5 states gained one seat (Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon). Seven states (California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) lost a congressional seat.

It should be noted that the U.S. resident population represents the total number of people living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The apportionment count includes military and civilian personnel stationed overseas and their families.

The Census Bureau will be releasing the full redistricting data file, which provides more granular information about the population at the block level, before the end of September 2021.