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United States congressional apportionment is the redistribution of the 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
 among the 50 states
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 in consequence of the constitutionally
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
 mandated decennial census
United States Census

File:Census Bureau seal.svgThe United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate List of United States Congressional districts , U.S....
. Each state is apportioned
Apportionment (politics)

Apportionment is the process of allocating political power among a set of principles . In most representative governments, political power has most recently been apportioned among constituencies based on population, but there is a long history of different approaches....
 a number of seats which approximately corresponds to its share of the aggregate population of the 50 states (populations of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
 and federal territories are not included in this figure). However, every state is constitutionally guaranteed at least one seat.

The decennial apportionment also determines the size of each state's representation in the United States Electoral College
United States Electoral College

The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives who formally elect the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States....
—any state's number of electors equals the size of its total congressional delegation (i.e., House seat(s) plus Senate seats).

Federal law requires the Clerk of the House
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives

The Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives whose primary role is acting as the House's chief record-keeper....
 to notify each state government of its entitled number of seats no later than January 25 of the year immediately following the census.






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Encyclopedia


United States congressional apportionment is the redistribution of the 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
 among the 50 states
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 in consequence of the constitutionally
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
 mandated decennial census
United States Census

File:Census Bureau seal.svgThe United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate List of United States Congressional districts , U.S....
. Each state is apportioned
Apportionment (politics)

Apportionment is the process of allocating political power among a set of principles . In most representative governments, political power has most recently been apportioned among constituencies based on population, but there is a long history of different approaches....
 a number of seats which approximately corresponds to its share of the aggregate population of the 50 states (populations of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
 and federal territories are not included in this figure). However, every state is constitutionally guaranteed at least one seat.

The decennial apportionment also determines the size of each state's representation in the United States Electoral College
United States Electoral College

The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives who formally elect the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States....
—any state's number of electors equals the size of its total congressional delegation (i.e., House seat(s) plus Senate seats).

Federal law requires the Clerk of the House
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives

The Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives whose primary role is acting as the House's chief record-keeper....
 to notify each state government of its entitled number of seats no later than January 25 of the year immediately following the census. After seats have been reapportioned, each state determines the boundaries of congressional districts
List of United States congressional districts

This is a complete list of congressional Electoral district for representation in the United States House of Representatives. The quantity and boundaries of districts are determined after each census, although in some cases states have changed the boundaries more than once per census....
—geographical areas within the state of approximately equal population—in a process called redistricting
Redistricting

Redistricting, a form of Redistribution , is the process of changing of political borders in the United States. This often means changing electoral district and constituency boundaries, usually in response to periodic census results....
.

House size

Ratio of representation in the House, 1789–1923
Years Source Constituents per Representative
1789–1793 U.S. Constitution 30,000
1793–1803 U.S. Census of 179030,000
1803–1813 U.S. Census of 180033,000
1813–1823 U.S. Census of 181035,000
1823–1833 U.S. Census of 182040,000
1833–1843 U.S. Census of 183047,700
1843–1853 U.S. Census of 184070,680
1853–1863 U.S. Census of 185093,425
1863–1873 U.S. Census of 1860127,381
1873–1883 U.S. Census of 1870131,425
1883–1893 U.S. Census of 1880151,912
1893–1903 U.S. Census of 1890173,901
1903–1913 U.S. Census of 1900194,182
1913–1923 U.S. Census of 1910212,407


The size of the United States House of Representatives refers to total number of congressional districts (or seats) into which the land area of the United States proper has been divided. The number of voting representatives is currently set at 435.

The United States Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
 requires that
The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative (Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3)
Prior to the twentieth century, the number of representatives increased every decade as more states joined the union, and the population increased.

In 1911, Public Law 62-5
Public Law 62-5

Public Law 62-5, passed by the United States Congress on August 8, 1911, set the number of members of the United States House of Representatives at 435 effective with the 63rd United States Congress in 1913....
 set the membership of the U.S. House at 433 with a provision to add one permanent seat each upon the admissions of Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
 and New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
 as states. As provided, membership increased to 435 in 1912, where it has remained since, with a brief exception from 1959 to 1963 following the admissions of Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, during which House membership was 437.

The maximum of "one [Representative] for every thirty thousand" currently limits the House to about ten thousand members. The present size of 435 seats means one member represents on average about 650,000 people; but exact representation per member varies by state. Four states – Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
, Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
, Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and North Dakota
North Dakota

North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....
 – currently have populations smaller than the average for a single district, though none has fewer than two-thirds of the average.

Proposals have been made to add voting representation for the District of Columbia
District of Columbia voting rights

File:DC satellite image.jpgVoting rights of citizens in the Washington, D.C. differ from those of United States citizens in each of the 50 states....
, now represented only by a non-voting delegate (see below), who is not counted as one of the 435 House representatives. Recent bills, such as the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007, would resolve the issue by permanently increasing House membership to 437. One of the new members would be from the District of Columbia; the other would be from the next state in line to receive another House seat (as described below), presently Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
.

Controversy

During the period that the current U.S. Constitution has been in effect, the number of citizens per congressional district has risen from an average of 30,000 in 1789 to over nearly 700,000 . It has been suggested that a new reapportionment act is needed to significantly raise the number of representatives toward the end of creating more equitable districts.

The ideal number of members has been a contentious issue since the country's founding. George Washington
George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
 objected to the original number of Representatives proposed at the Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia Convention

The Philadelphia Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Kingdom of Great Britain....
 as being too small. In Federalist No. 55
Federalist No. 55

Federalist No. 55 is an essay by James Madison, the fifty-fifth of the Federalist Papers. It was published on February 13, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all the Federalist Papers were published....
, James Madison
James Madison

James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
 argued that setting the initial number of Representatives at 65 was not a threat to liberty, stating, "I am unable to conceive that the people of America, in their present temper, or under any circumstances which can speedily happen, will choose, and every second year repeat the choice of, sixty-five or a hundred men who would be disposed to form and pursue a scheme of tyranny or treachery". Madison went on to argue that other constitutional safeguards, such as division of powers among the three branches of government and between the two houses of Congress, as well as the Article I, Section 6 provision banning Representatives from holding civil office, would be enough to prevent perfidy. Madison advocated keeping the number of Representatives within certain bounds:
Nothing can be more fallacious than to found our political calculations on arithmetical principles. Sixty or seventy men may be more properly trusted with a given degree of power than six or seven. But it does not follow that six or seven hundred would be proportionably [sic] a better depositary. And if we carry on the supposition to six or seven thousand, the whole reasoning ought to be reversed. The truth is, that in all cases a certain number at least seems to be necessary to secure the benefits of free consultation and discussion, and to guard against too easy a combination for improper purposes; as, on the other hand, the number ought at most to be kept within a certain limit, in order to avoid the confusion and intemperance of a multitude. In all very numerous assemblies, of whatever character composed, passion never fails to wrest the sceptre from reason. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.


Since each state is guaranteed one Representative under Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the minimum size of the House would be 50 Representatives. This would convert it into a non-proportional, U.S. Senate-like body. At the other extreme, because the number of Representatives cannot exceed one for every thirty thousand, the maximum number of Representatives at this time would be approximately 10,100.

The first proposed amendment
Article The First

Article the First is the first List of amendments to the United States Constitution#Unratified proposed amendments to the United States Constitution though it has not yet been ratified....
 to the Constitution attempted to set a pattern for growth of the House along with the population, but was never ratified.

Non-voting delegates

There are an additional five delegates to the House of Representatives. They represent the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa
American Samoa

American Samoa is an Territories of the United States of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa....
, Guam
Guam

Guam , officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated insular area of the United States....
, the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....
, which first elected a representative in 2008, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
 also elects a resident commissioner
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico

The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the voters of the Puerto Rico every four years....
 every four years.

History

The original size and apportionment of the House was set by Article One, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution
Article One of the United States Constitution

Article One of the United States Constitution describes the powers of the legislature of the Federal government of the United States, known as United States Congress, which includes the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate....
.

The last time the number of seats was increased, to 435, was in 1910. That number was later fixed by the Reapportionment Act of 1929
Reapportionment Act of 1929

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 was a combined United States census and reapportionment bill passed by the United States Congress which established a permanent method for apportioning a constant 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives according to each census....
 and the Apportionment Act of 1941.

For a brief period from 1959 to 1962, the admission of the states of Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
 and Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 to the United States required the temporary addition of two additional representatives for a new total of 437 voting seats. The number of seats reverted to 435 following reapportionment after the 1960 census.

Apportionment methods

Apart from the fact that the number of delegates is at least 1 for each state, as required by the Constitution, a state's number of representatives is in principle proportional to population (thus equalizing the size of congressional districts nationwide). No method of calculating this desired result, however, has been found perfectly satisfactory in practice. Five distinct methods have been used since the adoption of the Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
, all of them susceptible to mathematical paradoxes
Apportionment paradox

An apportionment paradox exists when the rules for Apportionment in a political system produce results which are unexpected or seem to violate common sense....
.

The Method of Equal Proportions

The apportionment methodology currently used is the "Method of Equal Proportions" , so called because it guarantees that no additional transfer of a seat (from one state to another) will reduce the ratio between the numbers of persons per Representative in any two states. According to , the method of equal proportions minimizes the percentage differences in the size of the congressional districts.

In this method, as a first step, each of the 50 states is initially guaranteed at least one seat in the House of Representatives, leaving the remaining 385 seats to assign.

The remaining seats are allocated one at a time, to the state that "deserves" the next assigned seat the most. Thus, the 51st seat would go to the most populous state (currently California). The measure of how much a state "deserves" the next allocatable seat is determined by a priority formula that is mathematically computed to be the ratio of the state population to the geometric mean
Geometric mean

The geometric mean, in mathematics, is a type of mean or average, which indicates the central tendency or typical value of a set of numbers. It is similar to the arithmetic mean, which is what most people think of with the word "average," except that instead of adding the set of numbers and then dividing the sum by the count of numbers in the...
 of the number of seats it currently holds in the assignment process, n (initially 1), and the number of seats it would hold if the seat were assigned to it, n+1. For instance, in the example above, California has already received a second seat and thus "deserves" another seat some measure less than it had before the second seat was assigned.

The formula for determining the priority of a state to be apportioned the next available seat defined by the method of equal proportions is

where P is the population of the state, and n is the number of seats it currently holds before the possible allocation of the next seat. An equivalent, recursive definition is

where n is still the number of seats the state has before allocation of the next, and for n = 1, the initial A1 is explicitly defined as

Consider the reapportionment following the 2000 U.S. Census. Beginning with all states initially being allocated one seat, the largest value of A1 corresponds to the largest state, California, which is allocated seat 51. But after being allocated its 2nd seat, its priority value decreases to its A2 value which is reordered to a position back in line. The 52nd seat goes to Texas, the 2nd largest state, because its A1 priority value is larger than the An of any other state. However, the 53rd goes back to California because its A2 priority value is larger than the An of any other state. The 54th seat goes to New York because its A1 priority value is larger than the An of any other state at this point. This process continues until all 435 seats have assigned (in 2000, just after the 13th seat for North Carolina was allocated, much to the chagrin of state officials in Utah). Each time a state is assigned a seat, n is incremented by 1, causing its priority value to be reduced and reordered among the states when normally another state rises to the top of the list.

The Census 2000 Ranking of Priority Values shows the order in which seats 51–435 were apportioned after the 2000 Census, with additional listings for the next five priorities. North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
 was allocated the final (435th) seat. Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
 (priority list 436) missed a fourth seat by only 857 residents. Legal action by Utah to amend the results, citing irregularities in the North Carolina count and undercounting of Utah's overseas missionary population (suggested to be as many as 14,000), was unsuccessful. The proposed Voting Rights Act of 2007 would have granted Utah a fourth seat, as well as a voting Representative to the District of Columbia, had it passed.

Past apportionments


Projected changes following the 2010 census

The U.S. Census Bureau will conduct a comprehensive census in April 2010. Based on the populations counted in each state, the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 will be reapportioned based on the Equal Proportions Method defined above. The total number of voting representatives is expected to remain at 435, assuming no legislation passes that would modify the apportionment process. Since the Census Bureau releases population estimates every year, projections have been made that predict the states' populations as of April 2010. One study estimates that fourteen seats would shift between the states as follows:
Gain more
than one		Gain one Lose oneLose more
than one
Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 +4
Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
 +2		Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 +1
Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 +1
Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
 +1		Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
 +1
South
Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
 +1
Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
 +1		Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 -1
Iowa
Iowa

The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
 -1
Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
 -1
Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
 -1
Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
 -1		Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
 -1
Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
 -1
New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
 -1
New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 -1
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
 -1		Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
 -2


The 10-year national growth rate is 12.5%. In this estimate, the population of states losing seats grew at a slower rate and the population of states gaining seats grew at a faster pace. Louisiana is the only state losing a seat that is estimated to have lost population between 2000 and 2010, significantly due to the exodus precipitated by the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest Atlantic hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States....
. The losing states are in the industrial northeast and midwest, while gainers are in the southeast
Southeastern United States

The US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs....
, southwest
Southwestern United States

The Southwestern area of the United States could be defined as the states west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit, such as the 37th parallel north, 38th parallel north, 39th parallel north, or 40th parallel north line....
 and Pacific northwest
Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America . There are several partially overlapping definitions but the term Pacific Northwest should not be confused with the Northwest Territory or the Northwest Territories of Canada....
.

Past increases

The size of the House has increased as follows:

1789-1800

Date Size Comments
March 4, 1789 59 Seats provided for in the Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
.
November 21, 1789 64 North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
 ratifies. Seats provided for in the Constitution.
May 29, 1790 65 Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
 ratifies. Seat provided for in the Constitution.
March 4, 1791 67 Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
 admitted.
June 1, 1792 69 Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
 admitted.
March 4, 1793 105 Apportionment of the First Census
United States Census, 1790

The United States Census of 1790 was the first Census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 2, 1790. It showed that 3,929,326 people were living in the United States of which 697,681 were slaves, and that the largest cities were New York City with 33,000 inhabitants, Philadelphia, with 28,000, Boston, with 18,000, Charles...
.
June 1, 1796 106 Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
 admitted.


1801-1820

Date Size Comments
March 1, 1803 107 Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
 admitted.
March 4, 1803 142 Apportionment of the Second Census
United States Census, 1800

The United States Census of 1800 was the second US Census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 4, 1800.It showed that 5,308,483 people were living in the United States of which 893,602 were slaves....
.
April 30, 1812 143 Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
 admitted.
March 4, 1813 182 Apportionment of the Third Census
United States Census, 1810

The United States Census of 1810 was the third US Census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 6, 1810. It showed that 7,239,881 people were living in the United States of which 1,191,362 were slaves....
.
December 11, 1816 183 Indiana
Indiana

The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
 admitted.
December 10, 1817 184 Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
 admitted.
December 3, 1818 185 Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 admitted.
December 14, 1819 186 Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
 admitted.
March 15, 1820 186 Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
 admitted, given seven seats. Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
 delegation reduced correspondingly.


1821-1840

Date Size Comments
August 10, 1821 187 Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
 admitted.
March 4, 1823 213 Apportionment of the Fourth Census
United States Census, 1820

The United States Census of 1820 was the fourth US Census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 7,1820 The total population was determined to be 9,638,453 of which 1,538,022 were slaves....
.
March 4, 1833 240 Apportionment of the Fifth Census
United States Census, 1830

The United States Census of 1830 was the fifth United States Census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on June 1 1830. It determined the population of the List of U.S....
.
June 15, 1836 241 Arkansas
Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
 admitted.
January 26, 1837 242 Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
 admitted.


1841-1860

Date Size Comments
March 4, 1843 223 Apportionment of the Sixth Census
United States Census, 1840

The United States Census of 1840 was the sixth United States Census. Conducted by the United States Census Bureau on June 1, 1840, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 17,069,453 — an increase of 32.7 percent over the 12,866,020 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1830....
.
March 3, 1845 224 Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 admitted.
December 29, 1845 226 Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 annexed
Texas Annexation

The Texas Annexation of 1845 was the voluntary annexation of the Republic of Texas by the United States as Texas, the 28th state. The new state of Texas included all of present-day Texas, plus portions of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, and Colorado....
 and admitted.
December 28, 1846 228 Iowa
Iowa

The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
 admitted.
May 29, 1848 230 Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
 admitted.
March 4, 1849 231 Wisconsin given another seat.
September 9, 1850 233 California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 admitted.
March 4, 1853 234 Apportionment of the Seventh Census
United States Census, 1850

The United States Census of 1850 was the seventh United States Census. Conducted by the United States Census Bureau on June 1, 1850, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876 — an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1840....
.
May 11, 1858 236 Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
 admitted.
February 14, 1859 237 Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
 admitted.


1861-1880

Date Size Comments
January 29, 1861 238 Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
 admitted.
June 2, 1862 239 California awarded an extra seat.
March 4, 1863 241 Apportionment of the Eighth Census
United States Census, 1860

The United States Census of 1860 was the eighth US Census conducted in the United States. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,321 — an increase of 35.4 percent over the 23,191,876 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1850....
.
June 20, 1863 241 West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
 admitted
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
; given three seats. Virginia's delegation reduced in census reapportionment.
October 31, 1864 242 Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
 admitted.
March 1, 1867 243 Nebraska
Nebraska

Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....
 admitted.
March 4, 1873 292 Apportionment of the Ninth Census
United States Census, 1870

The United States Census of 1870 was the ninth United States Census. Conducted by the United States Census Bureau, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 39,818,449, an increase of 22.6 percent over the 31,443,321 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1860....
.
August 1, 1876 293 Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
 admitted.


1881-1900

Date Size Comments
March 4, 1883 325 Apportionment of the Tenth Census
United States Census, 1880

The United States Census of 1880 was the tenth United States Census conducted by the United States Census Bureau during June 1880. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerators....
.
November 2, 1889 328 North Dakota
North Dakota

North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....
 and South Dakota
South Dakota

South Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota people and Sioux Sioux Native Americans in the United States tribes....
 admitted. One seat goes to the former, two to the latter.
November 8, 1889 329 Montana
Montana

Montana is a U.S. state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains....
 admitted.
November 11, 1889 330 Washington
Washington

Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....
 admitted.
July 3, 1890 331 Idaho
Idaho

The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....
 admitted.
July 10, 1890 332 Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
 admitted.
March 4, 1893 356 Apportionment of the Eleventh Census
United States Census, 1890

The Eleventh United States Census was taken June 2, 1890. Most of the 1890 census was destroyed in 1921 during a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C....
.
January 4, 1896 357 Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
 admitted.


1901-present

Date Size Comments
March 4, 1903 386 Apportionment of the Twelfth Census
United States Census, 1900

The twelfth United States Census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau on 1 June 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.0 percent over the 62,979,766 persons Enumeration during the U.S....
.
November 16, 1907 391 Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
 admitted.
January 6, 1912 393 New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
 admitted.
February 14, 1912 394 Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
 admitted.
March 4, 1913 435 Apportionment of the Thirteenth Census
United States Census, 1910

The Thirteenth United States Census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21.0 percent over the 76,212,168 persons Enumeration during the U.S....
. House size locked by Public Law 62-5
Public Law 62-5

Public Law 62-5, passed by the United States Congress on August 8, 1911, set the number of members of the United States House of Representatives at 435 effective with the 63rd United States Congress in 1913....
, excepting the admission of new states.
January 3, 1959 436 Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 admitted.
August 21, 1959 437 Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
 admitted.
January 3, 1963 435 Apportionment of the Eighteenth Census
United States Census, 1960

The Eighteenth United States Census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 179,323,175, an increase of 18.5 percent over the 151,325,798 persons Enumeration during the U.S....
. House size reverted to 435 per Public Law 62-5
Public Law 62-5

Public Law 62-5, passed by the United States Congress on August 8, 1911, set the number of members of the United States House of Representatives at 435 effective with the 63rd United States Congress in 1913....
.


Proposed expansion

Expansion would cause the United States Electoral College
United States Electoral College

The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives who formally elect the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States....
 result to more closely reflect the national popular vote
National Popular Vote

National Popular Vote may refer to* National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a series of electoral reform bills enacted or considered by U.S. state legislatures...
, as the number of Representatives would begin to dwarf the number of Senators, which is fixed at two per state. The Wyoming Rule
Wyoming Rule

The Wyoming Rule is a proposal to increase the United States congressional apportionment so that the standard Representative-to-population ratio would be that of the smallest entitled unit, which is currently Wyoming....
, an idea with some contemporary currency, calls for expanding the House until the standard Representative-to-population ratio equals that of the smallest entitled unit (i.e. Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
). This proposal is primarily designed to address the fact that some House districts are currently nearly twice the size of others; for instance, there are about 944,000 residents in Montana
Montana

Montana is a U.S. state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains....
's single district, compared to about 515,000 in Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
's. See List of U.S. states by population
List of U.S. states by population

This is a list of U.S. states by population as of July 1, 2008, according to the 2008 estimates of the United States Census Bureau. The total population of the United States was 281,421,906 at the 2000 United States Census....
.

On May 21, 2001, Rep. Alcee Hastings
Alcee Hastings

Alcee Lamar Hastings is a member of the United States House of Representatives representing .A Representative since 1993 and a Democratic Party , Hastings was previously a lawyer and judge....
 sent a dear colleague letter
Dear colleague letter

A dear colleague letter is a letter sent by one member of a legislative body to all fellow members, usually describing a new bill and asking for cosponsors or seeking to influence the recipients' votes on an issue....
 pointing out that U.S. expansion of its legislature had not kept pace with other countries.

In 2007, the Utah delegation asked Congress to pass a bill that would add two seats to the House of Representatives
House of Representatives

House of Representatives is the name of any of many legislature in many countries and sub-national states. In some countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameralism legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a "senate"....
, one for Utah and one for the District of Columbia. A bill doing so passed the House but was blocked in the Senate. In 2009, the bill passed the Senate and is expected to pass the House in March, and President Obama
Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the List of Presidents of the United States and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office....
 has said he would sign it. Should full representation of DC be found constitutional by the courts, the number of Representatives in the House will expand by two.

Sources

  • Hamilton, Alexander; Madison, James; Jay, John. (1788) The Federalist.


See also

  • List of states ordered by number of electors in the presidential elections, which is two more for each state.
  • United States Congress
    United States Congress

    The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
  • United States House of Representatives
    United States House of Representatives

    The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
  • Apportionment paradox
    Apportionment paradox

    An apportionment paradox exists when the rules for Apportionment in a political system produce results which are unexpected or seem to violate common sense....
  • Redistricting
    Redistricting

    Redistricting, a form of Redistribution , is the process of changing of political borders in the United States. This often means changing electoral district and constituency boundaries, usually in response to periodic census results....
  • Gerrymandering
    Gerrymandering

    Gerrymandering is a form of Redistribution in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral advantage....
  • List of U.S. states by population
    List of U.S. states by population

    This is a list of U.S. states by population as of July 1, 2008, according to the 2008 estimates of the United States Census Bureau. The total population of the United States was 281,421,906 at the 2000 United States Census....


External links

  • .