2010 Census: US Growth Slowest Since Depression

Dec 21, 2010 – 12:57 PM
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans reached 308,745,538 people this year, rising 9.7 percent in the first decade of the 21st century for the slowest growth rate since the Great Depression, according to figures released today from the 2010 Census.

The 23rd decennial population count, which is set forth in the Constitution, will be used to divvy up 435 House seats for the 113th Congress that will convene in 2013. As in recent reapportionments, states in the South and West will gain at the expense of those in the Northeast and Midwest. Since 1940, 79 seats in Congress have shifted from the older regions of the Northeast and Midwest to the Sunbelt and Western states.

Texas is the biggest winner in the congressional sweepstakes, picking up four seats. In all 12 seats will shift, affecting 18 states.

Other states that will gain seats include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington.

Losers include New York and Ohio, each losing two seats, and Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, all losing one seat in the House.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Census Bureau Director Robert Groves, who began the population count in January when he arrived by dogsled at a remote Alaskan village above the Arctic Circle, announced the results.

The highlights:

Nevada had the highest rate of growth, 35.1 percent.
Michigan was the only state to lose population from 2000 to 2010. It saw a 0.6 percent decline.
The South, already the largest of the four regions in population, grew the most, 14.3 percent. Slowest growing: the Northeast, with 3.2 percent.
The five largest states by population are California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. New York is the only state that has ranked in the top five since the first census in 1790.
The five least populous states are Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska and South Dakota.
The five fastest-growing states are Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Texas.
The five slowest growing states are Michigan, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Ohio and New York.