Census: U.S. Population Grew at Slowest Rate Since 1930s Over Last Decade

Texas will gain the most new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives under new Census numbers released Monday, while states in the Northeast and Midwest will lose seven seats, shifting some political clout to Republican strongholds before the 2022 midterms.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its every 10 year count of state populations Monday, reshuffling the 435 House seats among the 50 states to account for population changes over the last decade.

Those changes alone could be enough to decide the balance of power: Democrats hold a narrow advantage in the House now, with a margin of less than half a dozen seats.

The states gaining seats are largely ones that former President Donald Trump won in 2020, while states President Joe Biden won -- including the so-called “Blue Wall” states of the industrial North -- are losers.

Texas will gain two seats. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will also each gain a seat.

Because the size of the House has been capped since 1911, those new seats must come at the expense of seven slow-growing states: California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

And because the Electoral College factors in House representation, those states will lose influence in the 2024 presidential vote.

The average House seat will now represent 761,169 people, up from 710,767 from 2010.

Read More: Once-A-Decade Census Numbers to Redraw U.S. Political Landscape

There is one bright spot for Democrats, as demographic changes also mean that Republican strongholds such as Texas are becoming more Democratic, putting the party closer to its long-term goal of someday moving the Lone Star state out of the Republican column.

The Census also announced that the total U.S. population stands at 331,449,281 people, a 7.4% growth since 2010, but the second-slowest growth decade in U.S. history.

Later this year, the Census Bureau will release data that shows the growth in population centers, and that will guide states in redrawing their congressional district maps. That promises to set off contentious debates in states where partisan legislators draw the district lines.

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