2020 U.S. Census Upset: MN Beats New York For 435th Seat In House

MINNESOTA — Minnesota, not New York, will retain all of its seats in Congress, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday in a political and demographic upset.

The Land of 10,000 Lakes was widely expected to lose one of its seats because its population hasn't kept pace with other states, particularly in the Southwest. Instead, thanks in part to Minnesota having the best 2020 census participation rate, New York state will lose one of its seats in the House.

It was extremely close, though. If 89 fewer people had registered for the U.S. census in Minnesota — or 89 more people in New York — Minnesota would have lost the 435th seat in Congress to the home state of the Big Apple.

New York and Minnesota were both at risk to lose a seat in the House because neither state has kept pace with population growth in other states, and there are only 435 seats to go around during the apportionment process that occurs every 10 years.

Nationally, six states will gain congressional seats. Texas will gain two seats, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will each gain one, census officials said in a Monday afternoon news conference.

Seven states — California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — will lose one congressional seat each.

The population in Minnesota increased since the 2010 census, with the 2020 total population recorded as 5,706,494. That’s a 7.6 percent increase in population over the last decade in Minnesota.

The population of the United States totaled 331,449,281, an increase of 7.4 percent since the 2010 census, said Ron Jarmin, acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s the second-lowest decade-long growth in population in United States history, just one-tenth of a percent more growth than the 7.3 percent growth shown from 1930 to 1940.

The population growth from 2010 to 2020 was highest in Utah, which saw an 18.4 percent increase. West Virginia, with a 3.4 percent decrease, was one of only three states to see an overall population loss, and it had the largest population decrease since 2010.

Despite losing a congressional seat, California remains the most-populous state with a head count of 39,538,223. Wyoming is the least-populous state, the census found, with 576,851 residents.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said participation in the 2020 census was “overwhelming,” despite having been held during a year that brought the global coronavirus pandemic, deadly wildfires and civil unrest.

“Census takers managed to overcome these hurdles to conduct a complete and accurate census count,” said Raimondo, the former Rhode Island governor.

Jarmin said a number of outreach methods had differed due to the pandemic.

“We advertised on pizza boxes instead of at basketball games,” he said, adding that, adding that holding a census in a pandemic year made the process “even more challenging.”

The Census Bureau released only state-level data Monday, with data to come regarding counties and municipalities in the coming months.