Louisiana will remain status quo as far as representation in Washington according to results of the 2020 Census Monday. The state has six seats in the House of Representatives. As of Saturday, April 24, they are, First district, Steve Scalise (R) (since 2008); second district, Troy Carter (D) (since 2021); third district, Clay Higgins (R) (since 2017); fourth district, Mike Johnson (R) (representing Natchitoches Parish since 2017); fifth district, Julia Letlow (R) (since 2021) and sixth district, Garret Graves (R) (since 2015).
The total size of a state’s delegation to the House depends on its population, as determined by the census. Unfortunately, only 60.4% of Louisiana residents, and only 50.3% of Natchitoches Parish residents self responded to the census. Tax and other governmental records, as well as census workers knocking on doors were used to get the most accurate count possible. In addition to representation in Washington, every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads and other services based on census data.
The count is mandated by the Constitution. Each home received an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire either online, by phone or by mail. This marked the first time that everyone could respond to the census online.
Apportionment is the process of calculating how many seats each state gets in the House.
Every 10 years, the 435 seats are divided among the 50 states based on their population totals. Every state is entitled to at least one representative. Six states gained seats, Texas got two, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each gained one. Seven states lost one representative each.
They are California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. On average, each House Representative has a delegation of approximately 761,169 people. By Sept. 30, the Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to all 50 states. These counts will be used to redraw legislative districts based on population changes
Census Facts
•US population: First census: 3.9 million; 2021 census: 331,449,281
• There was a 7.5% increase in population since the 2010 census, the second slowest in history.
•The south has the fastest growing population, 10.2% since 2010
•California has the largest population, 39,5538,223
•Wyoming has the most sparse population, 576,581
• Louisiana has 4,661,468 people.
