Washington gains a House seat

Washington will gain one seat in the House of Representatives, giving it 10 congressional districts. Idaho , although one of the fastest growing states in the nation, will stay at two House seats.
That’s what Census officials said as they announced the official population of the United States, which stands at 308,745,538. That’s a jump of 9.7 percent for the nation as a whole.
Growth in the West is even higher, at 13.8 percent, and 14 percent in Washington state, to 6,724,540.
Idaho grew by 21.1 percent, the fourth fastest rate of …

Washington will gain one seat in the House of Representatives, giving it 10 congressional districts. Idaho , although one of the fastest growing states in the nation, will stay at two House seats.

That’s what Census officials said as they announced the official population of the United States, which stands at 308,745,538. That’s a jump of 9.7 percent for the nation as a whole.

Growth in the West is even higher, at 13.8 percent, and 14 percent in Washington state, to 6,724,540.

Idaho grew by 21.1 percent, the fourth fastest rate of growth in the nation. Its population came in at 1,567,582, but that wasn’t enough for a new congressional seat. The size of the average House seat is 710,767 people.

Growth trends follow about a half century of population shifting and growing in the West and South, and away from the Northeast and the Midwest.

To read more about the redrawing of Washington’s congressional district, and to see a map on the estimated population changes in the state’s nine districts, go to Spin Control.