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The United States Census Bureau has released a trove of local population data from the 2020 Census that will be used by states across the country as they redraw their congressional maps. The data includes "the first demographic and housing data from the 2020 Census that allow us to see demographic and population changes around the nation."
The redistricting data includes:
- Housing unit counts
- Occupancy status for housing units (occupied or vacant)
- Population totals
- Population totals by race
- Population totals by race and Hispanic/Latino origin
- Voting-age population (age 18 and older) totals by race and Hispanic/Latino origin
The data will be broken down for each state, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., based on the following geographical information:
- Counties
- Townships
- Cities
- Voting districts
- School districts
- Tracts
- Census blocks
The Census Bureau said that the U.S. population grew by 7.35% to 331.4 million. That is the slowest growth rate since 1930-1940. Officials explained that most of the population growth was centered around metropolitan areas, which grew by 8.7% since 2010.
"Population growth this decade was almost entirely in metro areas," said Marc Perry, a senior demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. "Texas is a good example of this, where parts of the Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas Fort Worth, Midland, and Odessa metro areas had population growth, whereas many of the state's other counties had population declines."
"Population growth this decade was almost entirely in metro areas. Metro areas grew by 8.7%, and micro-areas grew by 0.8%. Population in territory not in a metro or micro area declined by 2.8%. All 10 of the country's most populous cities grew this decade," Perry added.
Now that states have the local population data, they can begin to redraw their congressional districts based on where people are currently living as they work to create equally-sized districts. While the redistricting process is supposed to be non-partisan, many experts worry that political parties will gerrymander the process to ensure they will win the newly created districts.
Republican legislators will be in charge of drawing up 187 House districts, while Democratic legislators will be in control of creating 75 districts. The other 173 districts will be drawn up by independent commissions and in states with split control.