Census: NY, NJ To Lose Seats In Congress
NEW YORK (AP / WCBS 880 / CBS 2) -- The Census Bureau says the U.S. population is 308.7 million, reflecting the lowest growth since the Great Depression.
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WCBS 880's Levon Putney with Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey
Census Bureau Director Robert Groves says the figure represents an increase of 9.7 percent over the 2000 U.S. resident population of 281.4 million.
California is the most populous state with 37.2 million residents. Wyoming is the least populous with 563,626 residents.
Census data for 2010 shows New Jersey will lose one of its 13 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The data shows New Jersey is one of eight states to lose a seat in Congress, along with Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
The data shows New Jersey's population at 8.8 million, making it the 11th most populated state. In 2000, the population was 8.4 million and New Jersey ranked 9th in overall population.
New Jersey also lost a seat after the 1980 and 1990 counts. Its congressional districts remained unchanged in 2000.
New York is set to lose two seats in Congress. New York's current 29-member Congressional delegation will drop to 27. That's the lowest number since 1823.
Republicans and Democrats will meet to determine how the new congressional districts will be drawn.
Since the 2000 census, Texas gained the most people, up 4.3 million residents to 25.1 million. Nevada has gained the most residents as a percentage of its 2000 census count, growing 35.1 percent to 2,700,551.
The South and the West showed the strongest growth, although the Northeast and the Midwest also grew.
President Barack Obama's spokesman says he doesn't expect the results of the new census to have a "huge practical impact'' on national politics.
Despite migration to Republican-leaning states in the South and West, Robert Gibbs said he didn't see any reason why both parties would not remain competitive in those regions.
The once-a-decade government count will be used to reapportion the 435 House seats among the 50 states. Texas, a strong GOP state, is expected to pick up House seats.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
