Iowa grows to 3.2 million, retains four seats in the U.S. House despite lagging behind national average

Iowa will retain four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The overall results of the 2020 Census revealed that the population of the United States grew to 33,449,281, an increase of 7.4% from the 2010 Census.

The Midwest saw a 3.1% population increase, with the Northeast seeing a 4.1% increase, the West seeing a 9.2% increase, and the South experiencing a 10.2% increase in population, according to 2020 Census data.

Iowa’s population grew to 3,192,406, a 4.7% increase from the 2010 Census. However, even with this population increase, Iowa shows slow growth rates, and still lags behind the national average.

Des Moines reportedly saw a population increase of 15.3%, while Iowa City saw a 13.4% population increase, indicating a shift from the rural parts of the states to the cities.

“The cities that are growing population are, typically, in two or three geographical areas: the Corridor, Des Moines,” Charles Connerly, the director for the University of Iowa’s Planning and Public Affairs office, explained. “If we want to grow our population and get there faster than we are, we need to grow our cities faster. That’s what employers are saying in effect. They need more employees.”

Connerly said cities like Des Moines have done a great job of attracting young people.

Each state is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives according to the state’s population, with each state being guaranteed at least one seat, while the larger states generally hold more seats based off of population counts. As of right now, there are currently 435 members of the House of Representatives.

Based off of the data released by the Census Bureau, six states will gain seats; Texas will gain two, while the remaining five will gain one each; Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon. Seven states; California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will each lose one seat.

The remaining 37 states will retain their same number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

California, Texas, Florida and New York will be the states with the largest number of seats in the House, with California having 52 seats, Texas having 38 seats, Florida having 28, and New York having 26 seats.

Despite seeing a roughly 37% increase in population since 1910, Iowa, which once had 11 seats in the House, has continued to lose seats in the past several years. After losing two seats in 1930, Iowa continued to lose one seat after the Census’s of 1940, 1960, 1970, 1990 and 2010.

Tim Hagle, a political science professor from the University of Iowa predicted that the 2030 Census might take away a seat from Iowa in the House of Representatives, bringing them to three seats and five electoral votes.

“I thought we were going to be safe this time since we lost a seat last time,” Hagle explained. “I don’t know that losing a seat would make that big a difference, but whether we still have the Iowa Caucuses.”

This article was originally posted on Iowa grows to 3.2 million, retains four seats in the U.S. House despite lagging behind national average