All sorts of numbers emerge from the U.S. Census Bureau, but only one set of numbers is required by the U.S. Constitution. That’s the population of each state, which determines how many representatives the state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The total is fixed by law at 435, and each state gets at least one representative — and that’s all for unpopulated states like Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
The Census is conducted every ten years, and officially, it’s a snapshot of the population on April 1.
Based in Census Bureau estimates, the West will likely gain a few seats in the 2010 census on account of population growth: Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Washington would each gain one. Other gainers would be in the South: Texas with three, and one apiece for Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
The losers would be in the Midwest and Northeast, with Ohio losing two seats.
In the 2000 census, Colorado, California and Nevada each gained a seat, while Arizona picked up two.
Utah almost got a fourth representative from the 2000 census. It fell 857 residents short, so the seat went to North Carolina. Utah leaders argued that the system is unfair.
Overseas military personnel are counted as residents of their home states, but missionaries practicing overseas — an estimated 11,000 Mormons on overseas missions — are not counted. Utah sued and went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but lost the case.
They won’t be counted this year, either, but those of us in the country can expect to see census forms and census takers, starting in a few weeks.
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