U.S. population tops 331 million, slowest growth since 1930s

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The United States has a population topping 331 million, marking the country's slowest growth rate since the 1930s and the second slowest ever, the U.S. Census Bureau announced on Monday.

In total, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281 in 2020, up by 7.4 percent compared to the growth between 2000 and 2010, according to the Census Bureau.

Demographers said the United States may be entering an era of substantially lower population growth due to a number of reasons such as a leveling off of immigration, a declining birthrate, an aging population and the scars of the 2008 financial crisis forcing many Americans to delay marriage and starting families.

Six states will gain more seats in Congress during the upcoming once-a-decade redistricting battles based on the new census results. Among them, Texas will add two seats while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will each gain one seat.

California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will all lose congressional seats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

The new allocation of congressional seats shows that political power in the country is shifting from states in the Midwest and Northeast to those in the South and West, local media said.

Census officials said they were "very confident in the quality of the data" that they collected last year despite a once-a-century coronavirus pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, as well as controversy over former President Donald Trump's failed attempt to add a citizenship question to the census form. The Supreme Court eventually blocked Trump's plan.

However, questions about its accuracy will most likely surface when the Census Bureau releases detailed demographic files for each state later this year, according to local media reports.