Cities, Not States, Will Matter in Census Power Shake-Up
A few seats in Congress are likely to swing from rural areas of the Northeast to urban areas of the South.
Red and blue are both in the flag.
Photographer: Stephen Dunn/Getty ImagesNew state population estimates for 2019, released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau, have given political scientists the data they need to project changes to congressional apportionment after the 10-year census is tabulated this spring. Slower population growth and Americans moving less frequently will mean that fewer congressional seats, and Electoral College votes, will change between states than usual.
That relative calm masks some of the bigger changes within states. Because rural America is aging and population growth is increasingly concentrated in large metro areas, there will be a transfer of power to urban and suburban communities.