States gaining and losing U.S. House seats: how does Nebraska compare?

The U.S. Census Bureau has announced the final figures for apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade. As expected, Nebraska is retaining its 3 House seats, the number of representatives the state has held since the 1960s.

The 2020 Census reports Nebraska’s population was 1,961,504, which is a 7.4% increase from the previous census. Though Nebraska lags many states for its overall net migration—the number of new residents who are coming from other states and countries—its overall population growth for the decade was in line with the national average.

While that achievement may be somewhat attributable to an overall decrease in U.S. population growth, Nebraska’s rate was still double the region as a whole, with the Midwest experiencing the weakest population growth among all regions. Illinois actually saw its population decline slightly over the past ten years.

On a percentage basis, Nebraska’s population growth fared much better than the region at large (3.1%). While Nebraska’s population growth trailed South Dakota (8.9%) and Colorado (14.8%), it surpassed neighbors in Iowa (4.7%), Kansas (3%), and Missouri (2.8%).

The Census Bureau has visualized the data here:

A group of states mainly in the Great Lakes region and the Midwest, including Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will each lose a seat in the next apportionment of congressional seats, along with California and New York. Meanwhile, six southern and western states (which were the fastest growing regions in the census), will gain seats: Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon will gain one seat, while Texas will add two.