Numbers for the North Carolina 2010 census came in Tuesday. There are a lot more people living in the country than ten years ago.
The same for North Carolina. Still, the state's increase didn't lead to a win in one critical area. North Carolina does not gain any more power in congress.
Every ten years the census indicates how the country has Grown, so North Carolina actually grew at a rate almost twice as much as the country as a whole.
"The resident U.S. population is 308,745,538 persons," said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves.
That's the number that counts more than almost anything else for the next ten years. It's a 9.7 percent increase nationally. North Carolina's grew by 18.5 percent. More than 9.5 million people live in the state.
Ferrel Guillory, director for the University of North Carolina Public Life Program Said: "We're not Mayberry anymore, you know, we aren't a state that's just a collection of small town and small cities,” “We, we really have become a megastate."
One place that megastate status doesn't show up is in congress where census numbers determine how representatives each state will get. North Carolina remains unchanged at 13. There's no change for neighboring Virginia either. However, South Carolina is a winner with a net gain of one to 7.
Overall, 8 states gained a total of 12 seats. Texas adds four. Florida adds two. Ten states lost seats. New York and Ohio each lose two representatives. The rest lose one.
Beyond the political implications, all of the counting this year means money. A total of $400 billion each year divided among the states for the next decade.
"Everything from education to senior services to housing to law enforcement and transportation," said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
Overall, the census shows a continuing shift in population that we've seen for the last few decades. People are leaving the Midwest and Northeast heading South and West. The political shift also directly impacts the Electoral College for upcoming presidential elections.
That's one area where North Carolina's growth could payoff. The only drawback is the state won't have any more politicians at the federal level to fight for the money.
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