WA Grew Nearly 1 Million Residents Over Past Decade: 2020 Census

SEATTLE — The U.S. Census Bureau on Monday released the results of the 2020 census, with population totals and congressional seat distribution updated in all states, including Washington.

The data shows a significant growth in the state's population over the past decade, but the state's congressional appointments will remain unchanged.

The population in Washington grew nearly 1 million, from 6,753,369 in the 2010 census to 7,715,946 as of 2020.

That's a 14.6 percent increase in population over the last decade, beat only by Utah (18.4 percent growth) Idaho (17.3 percent) and North Dakota (15.8 percent) and it ties Florida — which did get allocated a new congressional seat.

Five other states will also get new seats in the House of Representatives: Colorado, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each gain one, while Texas will gain two seats, census officials said in a Monday afternoon news conference.

Seven states — California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — will lose one congressional seat each.

The population of the United States totaled 331,449,281, an increase of 7.4 percent since the 2010 census, said Ron Jarmin, acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s the second-lowest decade-long growth in population in United States history, just one-tenth of a percent more growth than the 7.3 percent growth shown from 1930 to 1940.

The population growth from 2010 to 2020 was highest in Utah, which saw an 18.4 percent increase. West Virginia, with a 3.4 percent decrease, was one of only three states to see an overall population loss, and had the largest population decrease since 2010.

Despite losing a congressional seat, California remains the most-populous state with a head count of 39,538,223. Wyoming is the least-populous state, the census found, with 576,851 residents. Put in perspective, Washington's Snohomish County — the state's third-largest county — has an estimated population of 822,000.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said participation in the 2020 census was “overwhelming,” despite having been held during a year that brought the global coronavirus pandemic, deadly wildfires and civil unrest.

“Census takers managed to overcome these hurdles to conduct a complete and accurate census count,” said Raimondo, the former Rhode Island governor.

Jarmin said a number of outreach methods had differed due to the pandemic.

“We advertised on pizza boxes instead of at basketball games,” he said, adding that, adding that holding a census in a pandemic year made the process “even more challenging.”

The Census Bureau released only state-level data Monday, with data to come regarding counties and municipalities in the coming months.

Patch Staffer Tim Moran contributed to this report.