U.S. population growth slowing

The population of both the U.S. and

Montana grew by 9.7 percent over the past 10 years, but while the

U.S. broke the 300 million mark, Montana stayed under 1 million and

will continue to have only one U.S. representative in Congress.

The Census Bureau announced Dec. 21

that the population of the U.S. is 308,745,538, an increase of

27,323,632 individuals since the last census in 2000. The

population of Montana is 989,415, an increase of 87,220, or about

the population of Flathead County.

Population breakdowns from the 2010

Census by county and city are not yet available. About 74 percent

of households across the U.S. filled out and mailed back their 2010

Census questionnaire, which matches the participation rate in 2000.

The participation rate in the greater Whitefish area ran about

50-60 percent.

The last decade experienced the slowest

rate of population growth since the Great Depression. The U.S.

population grew by 7.3 percent in the 1930s, compared to 13.2

percent during the 1990s. Growth in the Flathead and Whitefish for

the first half of the last decade has been estimated at 25 percent,

primarily the result of people moving here and not births.

Michigan was the only state to lose

population since 2000. Nevada’s population grew the fastest — 35

percent.

The U.S. Constitution charges the

Census Bureau with the job of counting residents every 10 years to

track population shifts in the U.S. so seats in the House can be

apportioned correctly. The results must be reported to the

president before Jan. 1.

As a result of the 2010 Census, the

number of seats in the U.S. House will change for 18 states. The

number of representatives from Texas will increase from 32 to 36.

Florida’s will increase from 25 to 27. Six states will gain one

representative — Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and

Washington.

Two populous states will lose two

representatives each — New York and Ohio. Eight states will each

lose one representative — Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan,

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Louisiana.

As a result, Florida will now have as

many House seats as New York, and for the first time since it

became a state, California will not gain a seat after a federal

census. The average population of each House district will be

710,767 residents, which will leave Wyoming, with 563,626 residents

and one representative, as the least populous House district.

Each House district represents an

electoral vote in the presidential election. Many of the states

that lost seats in the House are part of the so-called Rust Belt,

where heavy manufacturing jobs have been lost in past decades.

Almost all states that lost seats were won by President Barack

Obama when he ran for president in 2008. Most of the states that

gained seats went for Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.

Montana’s lone Congressman, Rep. Denny

Rehberg, R-Billings, noted that despite a 9.6-percent increase in

population, Montana will remain the second-largest House district

by area and by far the most populous. Rehberg claimed that the

influx of illegal immigrants affects the apportionment of

representatives, benefiting southern border states at the expense

of states like Montana.

On the same day Secretary of Commerce

Gary Locke unveiled the official Census counts at the National

Press Club, in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention released preliminary numbers indicating that

the teen birth rate in the U.S. had dropped to its lowest level

since researchers began to track teen births in 1940.

The birth rate in 2009 for teenage

mothers dropped to 39 per 1,000 girls ages 15-19. That’s a 6

percent decline from 2008.

Experts suggested the current economic

recession could be a major factor in explaining the drop. The peak

year for teen births was 1957, when 96 of 1,000 teen girls had

babies, but some experts point out that American culture was

different then, and women tended to marry at younger ages.

The CDC also reported that overall,

about 4.1 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2009. That’s a 3

percent decline from 2008 and the second year in a row with a

decline in overall births. The overall number of births had been on

the rise since 2000.