The federal government has released the numbers from the 2010 Census.
Overall, they show that the population of the United States is growing at the slowest rate since the Great Depression, only 10 percent more than the 2000 Census. The nation’s population was measured at nearly 309 million earlier this year with the largest regional growth in the Midwest.
California is still the nation’s most populous state, followed by Texas and New York, which will lose two congressional representatives starting next year. Pennsylvania will lose one representative. The state governments will be responsible for drawing the new districts.
Besides determining congressional representation, the Census numbers will also be used to help the federal government decide where to allocate nearly $400 billion in annual funding.
