Missouri is one of seven states that will lose a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to data released Dec. 21 from the 2010 U.S. Census. There are 12 U.S. House seats nationwide to be reassigned due to population numbers, the same as in 2000 when the last Census was conducted.
Although the state population grew by 7 percent to 5,988,927 from 5,595,211 in 2000, Missouri’s growth failed to keep pace with the overall U.S. growth rate of 9.7 percent.
The process of redistricting to determine from where the House seat will come will begin in 2011, according to
2010.census.gov. Census data will allow state officials to realign congressional and state legislative districts, based on population changes since the last Census.
“Today’s census announcement confirms that Missouri is a growing state,” Gov. Jay Nixon said in a news release. “While our growth rate of 7 percent over the past 10 years far exceeds the growth rate across the Midwest, we unfortunately fell short of the benchmark for keeping nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“In the coming months, the General Assembly will begin the important process of redrawing congressional district lines, and that process must move forward openly, transparently and fairly.”
The U.S. population increased to 308,745,538, up from 281,421,906 in 2000.
With 37,253,956 residents, California had the largest state population, while Wyoming was the least populous, 563,626.
Regionally, the South and the West picked up the bulk of the population increase, 14,318,924 and 8,747,621, respectively. But the Northeast and the Midwest also grew, 1,722,862 and 2,534,225, respectively.[[In-content Ad]]
