DEs Moines Register: Iowa loses U.S. House seat in shift from Midwest, Northeast to South
Blog post by Tom Beaumont • tbeaumont@dmreg.com • December 21, 2010
The nation’s population grew roughly 10 percent in the past decade, to more than 308 million, more than twice as fast as Iowa’s population, which grew 4.1 percent since 2000, U.S. Census officials announced today.
The difference was enough for Iowa to lose, as expected, a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives when the maps are drawn for congressional redistricting next year. Iowa’s population, as of April, was 3,046,355. See its changes over time and new totals for other states in the U.S. Census report here.
Iowa was among 10 states to lose a congressional seat based on population shifts since 2000, most of which come from the upper Midwest and the Northeast.
In the 2012 elections, Iowans will vote for representatives in the U.S. House from four districts that will be determined next year. Today, Iowa is divided into five districts, down from 6 before the 1990 census and down from 11 in the early part of the 20th Century.
Iowa’s U.S. House districts will grow as a result, from roughly 586,385 residents in 2001 to 763,447.
The other states losing districts are Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pensylvania. Take a look here at the changes announced today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
All lost one congressional district, except New York and Ohio, which lost two.
Eight states will gain U.S. House seats in the 2012 elections, mostly in the South and Southwest.
They are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington.
Texas was the biggest gainer, with four new seats. Florida will have two more. The rest gain one.
The new data represents a shift of 12 seats, the same as after the 2000 census. Similarly as 10 years ago, the Midwest and Northeast lost while the South gained.
The information will be used to calculate new congressional and state legislative maps for the states.
Local-level census data will become available for congressional and legislative realignment in February and March, Census officials said today.
