Census: Illinois remains 5th largest state but may lose 1 representative

Texas gained more people than any other state in the 12 months ended July 1, with 478,000 new residents, and Florida and Nevada now have more people moving out than moving in, the U.S. Census Bureau said today.

Among the largest states, Illinois maintained it's fifth-place position with 12.9 million residents, following California (37 million), Texas (24.8 million), New York (19.5 million) and Florida (18.5 million)

The U.S. population grew 0.86 percent in the last year, to 307 million, the agency said in a release. California posted the second-highest growth, with 381,000 more people, followed by North Carolina with 134,000,Georgia with 131,000, and Florida with 114,000, according to bureau estimates.

The numbers are the final estimates by the bureau before it releases the official 2010 census next December. The numbers are used to determine the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress.

"We are focused now on ensuring we get a complete and accurate count in 2010," Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said in a statement.

California stayed the most populous state with a July 1 population of 37 million. Texas had 24.8 million, New York 19.5 million, Florida 18.5 million and Illinois 12.9 million.

Wyoming had the largest percentage growth as its population climbed 2.12 percent to 544,270. Utah was next, increasing 2.10 percent to 2.8 million.

Texas ranked third, as its population climbed 1.97 percent to 24.8 million, with Colorado next, growing 1.81 percent to 5 million.

The only three states to lose population over the period were Michigan, with a decline of 0.33 percent; Maine, whose population fell 0.11 percent; and Rhode Island, which dropped 0.03 percent.

Louisiana, which lost population after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, grew by 40,563 people, or 0.91 percent, to 4.5 million from a year earlier.

Florida and Nevada, which earlier in the decade had net inflows, are now experiencing new outflows, the bureau said.

The Texas congressional delegation would increase by four members for the 2012 elections while Ohio would lose two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an independent analysis of new Census Bureau data.

Seven other states would gain one new representative, all of them in the South and West, according to the analysis by Polidata LLC, a demographic and political research firm based in Corinth, Vermont.

States that would gain one representative are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington.

Illinois and eight other states -- Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania -- would lose a representative, according to an analysis by Polidata LLC, a demographic and political research firm based in Corinth, Vermont.

In its final estimates before the actual 2010 count, the Census Bureau reported that the U.S. population grew by less than 1 percent between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, to 307 million people.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>If you want to dig deeper</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html">More on the Census estimates </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>