2010 Census projections: Oklahoma Congressional seats to remain the same
New U.S. Census Bureau projections for state population came out recently, and it looks like Oklahoma gained 34,000 people from July 2007 to July 2008. The state’s estimated population is now 3,642,361.
Oklahoma ranked 19th in percentage growth and 21st in numerical growth.
The folks at the state Data Center said we shouldn’t worry about losing Congressional representation after the next decennial Census. (Oklahoma went from six Congressional districts to five after the 2000 Census because its rate of population didn’t keep up with other states.)
From the Data Center’s latest newsletter:
While the state has not grown enough to recapture that lost 6th Congressional District, we do not appear to be at risk of losing a district either. It’s not easy to plot out every possible scenario, but roughly speaking, if the population in the rest of the nation were held constant, then Oklahoma’s population would have to decline by more than half a million before the state would be at risk of losing another seat. Conversely, if the state wanted to regain its 6th District, the state’s population would need to increase somewhere close to 175,000 while the rest of the U.S. population remained unchanged.
To see more of the Data Center’s population estimates, go here.
–Paul
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