The authorities in the United States made public the data from the last census, which reflects that in the last decade there was the second lowest population increase in the country in almost a century.
With the new population data, Texas and Florida, two great Republican strongholds, will win seats in Congress, while two Democratic giants like California and New York will lose them.
Here are 5 changes that reflect the data from the new US census.
1. Slowest growth since 1930
Census shows that the US has of 331, 425, 281 inhabitants, representing an increase of 7.4% with with respect to the figures of 2010 .
That means it is the slowest expansion since the decade of 1930, during the Great Depression.
Despite this, the population is increasing strongly in some regions.
The American South had a population increase greater than the national average with a 000, 2% and the west came in second place with 9.2%.
They are followed by the northeast with a 4.1% population increase.
The state that gained the most population was Utah, with an increase of 18. 4% during the last decade.
In contrast, West Virginia was the state that presented the highest population decline: -3.2%.
Census figures are used to determine how to distribute the 425 seats in the House of Representatives of Congress , affecting the votes in the Electoral College that elect the president of the United States every four years.
They also serve to determine how federal funds are allocated.
two. California contracts
For the first time in US history, California will lose one of its 53 House seats after its population grew at a slower rate than other states.
Since joining the United States on 1850, in the midst of a gold rush, the so-called “golden state” became the most populated in the country and currently has 39. 5 million residents .
Experts argue that the reason for the decline in the growth rate of its population is due to several reasons, including the fall in the birth and immigration levels and the number of people leaving the state.
US Census Bureau officials note that California experienced growth Negative net number, meaning that more people left the state than moved there in the past 10 years. In any case, in the last decade 2.2 million people moved to California.
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Wyoming remains the least populated state with only 576, 000 residents.
3. New York loses a representative for 89 people
New York will also lose a seat in the House of Representatives despite missing only 89 persons registered to keep it.
That means your rendering will be reduced to 25.
Census officials noted that while New York’s population grew overall due to immigration, had a “negative net migration.”
4. Everything grows in Texas
Texas will win two seats in Congress after figures showed that the state’s population grew during the last decade to around 29 million residents.
This expansion occurs in the midst of an intense campaign of state officials to attract residents and businesses from elsewhere.
Technology companies such as Oracle and Hewlett Packard announced plans to move from Silicon Valley (California) to Austin.
The electric car company Tesla also plans to land in Texas, where it is already is building a factory.
5. Winners and Losers
Six states will be granted additional seats in Congress due to their expanding populations.
Meanwhile, another seven are on the verge of lose representatives.
Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia join California and New York as the states to which congressmen will be subtracted .
In the winners column, in addition to Texas, there are Florida, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon, who will win one representative each .
The trend indicates that more Americans are leaving the northern states of the so-called “rust belt” ( Rust Belt ), region known for the production of ac ero and heavy industry, and are heading to warmer places.
This US region, which includes several states in the Northeast and Midwest, has been in decline since the decade of 1980 and often plays an important role in presidential political campaigns.
Instead, Florida’s jump comes seven years after the state first passed once the 20 millions of residents.
On 2019, Florida added former President Donald Trump to its resident registry.
While Republicans hope that these changes may increase their chances in next year’s midterm elections in the United States, among the newcomers to the Republican states who will win seats are young people and Afro-descendants, who tend to vote for Democrats.
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