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Census snapshots

 
Published March 18, 2001|Updated Sept. 9, 2005

The U.S. Census Bureau has begun sending information to the states that will be used by state lawmakers to redraw congressional, state and legislative district lines. Here are some of the details released last week for 15 more states.

Alabama

The number of Hispanics tripled during the 1990s to 75,830 last year, providing Alabama with diversity that previously didn't exist outside a few tight-knit communities. The state remains largely black and white, with 71 percent of residents identifying themselves as white only and 26 percent as black only.

Overall, the state population grew 10.1 percent to 4,447,100.

Delaware

New residents moving to Delaware's beaches and newly developed suburbs helped the state post a 17.6 percent population gain during the 1990s.

Most of the growth was split between coastal communities in southern Delaware and suburban communities near the northern city of Wilmington.

The state population last year was 783,600.

Illinois

Immigrants, families and workers added to overall state diversity and helped fuel a Chicago-area boom in which the city gained population for the first time in 50 years.

The number of Hispanics grew by nearly 70 percent and the group now accounts for 12.3 percent of the state's population.

The five counties around Chicago all showed double-digit growth rates and Chicago itself picked up 112,000 people, bucking a trend among northern U.S. cities.

Overall, the state population grew by 8.6 percent to 12,419,293.

Iowa

Iowa had 82,473 Hispanics last year, a whopping 152.6 percent increase from the 32,647 counted in 1990. Overall, the state's population increased 5.4 percent to 2.9-million. It is 94 percent white, though the number of blacks climbed 28.6 percent to 61,853 last year.

The numbers mean that lawmakers will have to shrink two of the state's five congressional districts and could mean there will be one massive western Iowa district dominated by Republicans.

The state's population was 2,926,324, an increase of 5.4 percent.

Kansas

The number of Hispanic residents doubled from 1990, increasing to 188,252. In 1990, Hispanics made up 3.6 percent of the state's population; now they are 7 percent.

Census figures also show a growing urban population and that 57 of the state's 105 counties lost people since 1990. A dozen rural counties, mainly in western Kansas, lost 10 percent or more of their residents.

The state's population was 2,688,418, an increase of 8.5 percent.

Missouri

Thousands of people moved to the Ozarks during the 1990s, with Christian County _ between Springfield and Branson _ topping the state in growth. Southwest Missouri's boom was fueled by Hispanics seeking jobs in agriculture plants and people looking for entertainment and outdoors opportunities.

The state's Hispanic population nearly doubled during the 1990s, while Kansas City continued to outpace St. Louis as Missouri's most populous city. St. Louis, mired in a half-century population decline, lost 12.2 percent of its residents in the 1990s as surrounding areas grew dramatically.

Overall, the state population grew by 9.3 percent to 5,595,211.

Nebraska

Nebraska reported its highest population ever, crediting a growing number of Hispanics who accounted for two of every five new residents during the 1990s.

The Hispanic population more than doubled, from 39,969 to 94,425. Hispanics now account for 5.5 percent of Nebraska's population.

Overall, the state population grew 8.4 percent to 1,711,263.

Nevada

Workers flocking to new Las Vegas resorts helped Nevada post a 66 percent increase in population during the 1990s _ No. 1 in the nation. The state added nearly 800,000 people during the past decade, which means it will pick up a seat in Congress.

The state's population was 1,998,257, an increase of 66.3 percent.

New York

New York City and its suburbs surged over the past decade while the largest cities upstate _ including Buffalo and Albany _ lost people.

The number of people in the nation's most populous city grew 9.4 percent to 8-million, while surrounding counties also posted gains.

The number of state residents identifying themselves as Hispanic increased by 29.5 percent to 2.9-million, the majority living in New York City.

Overall, the state population grew 5.5 percent to 18,976,457 _ a rate too slow to keep New York from losing two of its 31 seats in the U.S. House once districts are redrawn.

Ohio

Five of Ohio's largest cities lost population during the 1990s, part of a statewide exodus to now-sprawling suburbs that began in the 1980s. Cleveland's population slipped below a half-million, costing it stature and, potentially, federal aid. Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron and Toledo also lost residents. Overall, the state's population grew 4.7 percent to 11.3-million during the past decade. The state also mirrored population changes throughout the United States during the 1990s. The Hispanic population grew by 55 percent, though the group is still a minority of less than 2 percent statewide.

The state population last year was 11,353,140.

Oklahoma

The state's Hispanic population doubled in the 1990s, growing from 86,160 in 1990 to 179,304 last year and helping revive some smaller towns hurt by the woes in the oil and farm industries.

Overall, the state population grew by 305,069 people, or 9.6 percent. Most of the gain came in and around Oklahoma's two largest cities, Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Because the growth lagged behind that of other states, Oklahoma will lose one of its six congressional seats. Twenty counties, mostly in western Oklahoma, also lost population.

The state's population was 3,450,654, an increase of 9.6 percent.

Oregon

The state's population jumped by 20 percent over the past decade, led by a surge in the number of minorities.

Whites still account for more than nine out of 10 residents but the number of Hispanics more than doubled to 275,000. The number of Asians increased by some 40 percent and the number of blacks 17 percent.

The state population last year was 3,421,399.

South Carolina

A population boom during the past decade was led by coastal resort communities and suburban areas.

Half of the state's top 10 growth counties were in suburban areas around Columbia, Greenville and just south of Charlotte, N.C. Leading the state were Beaufort County, home to Hilton Head Island, and Horry County, home to Myrtle Beach.

The state's Hispanic population surged more than 200 percent since 1990, with Jasper County, a farming area along the Savannah River, seeing the biggest increase.

Overall, the state population grew 15 percent to 4,012,012.

Texas

The 1990s expansion that made Texas the second most-populous state was led by Hispanics: There were 6.7-million Hispanic Texans last year, compared with 4.4-million in 1990 _ a surge of 54 percent and accounting for 60 percent of the state's overall population increase.

The figures also show that 91 percent of the 3.9-million newcomers live in Texas' largest cities and their burgeoning suburbs. There was also growth along the Lower Rio Grande, where four counties swelled to nearly 1-million residents combined _ a 40 percent growth rate.

The state's population was 20,851,820, an increase of 22.8 percent from 1990.

Vermont

Despite attempts to limit development to cities and towns, three suburban counties are the fastest-growing in Vermont and some of its largest towns lost residents during the 1990s. The three counties all surround Chittenden County, the most populous.

A number of towns reported smaller populations as residents left for the suburbs.

Vermont remains among the least diverse states, with 97 percent of residents designated as white.

The state's population was 608,827, an increase of 8 percent.