Population represented by state legislators

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Every ten years after the federal census, states re-draw the boundaries of their state legislative districts in order to keep the population of every district roughly equal. Each state, besides Kansas, uses federal population figures to determine the new, ideal population of state districts. Kansas uses a state adjusted figure based on federal census data. To calculate ideal districts, each state divides the number of residents by the number of representatives or senators in the state legislature.

Highs and lows

Out of all state senates, California's senators represent the most residents, 989,419 per senator, while North Dakota's senators represent the fewest, 16,589 per senator. Amongst all state houses, California's assembly members also represent the most residents, 494,709 per representative, while New Hampshire representatives represent the fewest, 3,448 residents per representative.

Since representation tracks exactly with population growth, Utah saw the largest increase in the ratio of residents to representatives. Utah had the 12th-largest population growth, but has the 10th-fewest state legislators. Illinois, Mississippi, and West Virginia, the only states with shrinking populations, saw the only decreases in this ratio.

Minnesota has the largest state senate with 67 members, and New Hampshire has the largest state house with 400 members.

On average, the 5,413 state representatives served 61,169 Americans as of the 2020 census, while each of the 1,973 state senators represented 167,820 Americans.

Wyoming was the only state that changed its number of legislators after the 2020 census. The state added one Senate seat and two House of Representatives seats, meaning that after the 2022 elections, Wyoming had 31 state Senators and 62 state Representatives.[1]

Sortable chart

The following table represents the number of seats in each legislative chamber, each state's total population following each census and how many citizens a state representative and state senator represent based on the census data.

Yellow cells indicate a value that decreased from the previous census.

Number of seats Population of state Population per senator Population per representative
States Sens. Reps. 2020 2010 2000 2020 2010 2000 2020 2010 2000
Alabama (S, H) 35 105 5,030,053 4,802,982 4,447,100 143,716 137,228 127,060 47,905 45,743 42,353
Alaska (S, H) 20 40 736,081 721,523 626,932 36,804 36,076 31,347 18,402 18,038 15,673
Arizona (S, H) 30 60 7,158,923 6,412,700 5,130,632 238,631 213,757 171,021 119,315 106,878 85,511
Arkansas (S, H) 35 100 3,013,756 2,926,229 2,673,400 86,107 83,607 76,383 30,138 29,262 26,734
California (S, A) 40 80 39,576,757 37,341,989 33,871,648 989,419 933,550 846,791 494,709 466,775 423,396
Colorado (S, H) 35 65 5,782,171 5,044,930 4,301,261 165,205 144,141 122,893 88,956 77,614 66,173
Connecticut (S, H) 36 151 3,608,298 3,581,628 3,405,565 100,231 99,490 94,599 23,896 23,719 22,553
Delaware (S, H) 21 41 990,837 900,877 783,600 47,183 42,899 37,314 24,167 21,973 19,112
Florida (S, H) 40 120 21,570,527 18,900,773 15,982,378 539,263 472,519 399,559 179,754 157,506 133,186
Georgia (S, H) 56 180 10,725,274 9,727,566 8,816,453 191,523 173,707 157,437 59,585 54,042 48,980
Hawaii (S, H) 25 51 1,460,137 1,366,862 1,211,537 58,405 54,674 48,461 28,630 26,801 23,756
Idaho (S, H) 35 70 1,841,377 1,573,499 1,293,953 52,611 44,957 36,970 26,305 22,479 18,485
Illinois (S, H) 59 118 12,822,739 12,864,380 12,419,293 217,335 218,040 210,496 108,667 109,020 105,248
Indiana (S, H) 50 100 6,790,280 6,501,582 6,080,485 135,806 130,032 121,610 67,903 65,016 60,805
Iowa (S, H) 50 100 3,192,406 3,053,787 2,929,324 63,848 61,076 58,586 31,924 30,538 29,293
Kansas (S, H) 40 125 2,940,865 2,863,813 2,688,418 73,522 71,595 67,210 23,527 22,911 21,507
Kentucky (S, H) 38 100 4,509,342 4,350,606 4,041,769 118,667 114,490 106,362 45,093 43,506 40,418
Louisiana (S, H) 39 105 4,661,468 4,553,962 4,468,976 119,525 116,768 114,589 44,395 43,371 42,562
Maine (S, H) 35 151 1,363,582 1,333,074 1,274,923 38,959 38,088 36,426 9,030 8,828 8,443
Maryland (S, H) 47 141 6,185,278 5,789,929 5,296,486 131,602 123,190 112,691 43,867 41,063 37,564
Massachusetts (S, H) 40 160 7,033,469 6,559,644 6,349,097 175,837 163,991 158,727 43,959 40,998 39,682
Michigan (S, H) 38 110 10,084,442 9,911,626 9,938,444 265,380 260,832 261,538 91,677 90,106 90,349
Minnesota (S, H) 67 134 5,709,752 5,314,879 4,919,479 85,220 79,327 73,425 42,610 39,663 36,713
Mississippi (S, H) 52 122 2,963,914 2,978,240 2,844,658 56,998 57,274 54,705 24,294 24,412 23,317
Missouri (S, H) 34 163 6,160,281 6,011,478 5,595,211 181,185 176,808 164,565 37,793 36,880 34,326
Montana (S, H) 50 100 1,085,407 994,416 902,195 21,708 19,888 18,044 10,854 9,944 9,022
Nebraska* (S) 49 0 1,963,333 1,831,825 1,711,263 40,068 37,384 34,924 N/A N/A N/A
Nevada (S, H) 21 42 3,108,462 2,709,432 1,988,257 148,022 129,021 94,679 74,011 64,510 47,339
New Hampshire (S, H) 24 400 1,379,089 1,321,445 1,235,786 57,462 55,060 51,491 3,448 3,304 3,089
New Jersey (S, A) 40 80 9,294,493 8,807,501 8,414,350 232,362 220,188 210,359 116,181 110,094 105,179
New Mexico (S, H) 42 70 2,120,220 2,067,273 1,819,046 50,481 49,221 43,311 30,289 29,532 25,986
New York (S, A) 63 150 20,215,751 19,421,055 18,976,457 320,885 308,271 306,072 134,772 129,474 126,510
North Carolina (S, H) 50 120 10,453,948 9,565,781 8,049,313 209,079 191,316 160,986 87,116 79,715 67,078
North Dakota (S, H) 47 94 779,702 675,905 642,200 16,589 14,381 13,664 8,295 7,190 6,832
Ohio (S, H) 33 99 11,808,848 11,568,495 11,353,140 357,844 350,560 344,035 119,281 116,853 114,678
Oklahoma (S, H) 48 101 3,963,516 3,764,882 3,450,654 82,573 78,435 71,889 39,243 37,276 34,165
Oregon (S, H) 30 60 4,241,500 3,848,606 3,421,399 141,383 128,287 114,047 70,692 64,143 57,023
Pennsylvania (S, H) 50 203 13,011,844 12,734,905 12,281,054 260,237 254,698 245,621 64,098 62,734 60,498
Rhode Island (S, H) 38 75 1,098,163 1,055,247 1,048,319 28,899 27,770 27,587 14,642 14,070 13,978
South Carolina (S, H) 46 124 5,124,712 4,645,975 4,012,012 111,407 100,999 87,218 41,328 37,468 32,355
South Dakota (S, H) 35 70 887,770 819,761 754,844 25,365 23,422 21,567 12,682 11,711 10,783
Tennessee (S, H) 33 99 6,916,897 6,375,431 5,689,283 209,603 193,195 172,403 69,868 64,398 57,468
Texas (S, H) 31 150 29,183,290 25,268,418 20,851,829 941,396 815,110 672,640 194,555 168,456 139,012
Utah (S, H) 29 75 3,275,252 2,770,765 2,233,169 112,940 95,544 77,006 43,670 36,944 29,776
Vermont (S, H) 30 150 643,503 630,337 608,827 21,450 21,011 20,294 4,290 4,202 4,059
Virginia (S, H) 40 100 8,654,542 8,037,736 7,078,515 216,364 200,943 176,963 86,545 80,377 70,785
Washington (S, H) 49 98 7,715,946 6,753,369 5,894,121 157,468 137,824 120,288 78,734 68,912 60,144
West Virginia (S, H) 34 100 1,795,045 1,859,815 1,808,344 52,795 54,700 53,187 17,950 18,598 18,083
Wisconsin (S, A) 33 99 5,897,473 5,698,230 5,363,675 178,711 172,674 162,536 59,570 57,558 54,179
Wyoming (S, H) 31/30/30[2] 62/60/60[3] 577,719 568,300 493,782 18,636 18,943 16,459 9,318 9,472 8,230
Total/Average 1,972/1,973 5,411/5,413 331,108,434 309,183,463 281,472,856 167,820 156,787 142,735 61,169 57,140 52,019

Source: Census Apportionment Results[4][5]

* Nebraska has a unicameral legislature
* Although Wyoming's total population increased from 2010 to 2020, the number of people per legislative district decreased because Wyoming added seats to its state legislature after the 2020 census.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Wyoming News.com, "Gov. Mark Gordon allows redistricting bill to become law without his signature," March 25, 2022
  2. ↑ One new seat was added to the Wyoming State Senate during the redistricting process after the 2020 census.
  3. ↑ Two new seats were added to the Wyoming House of Representatives during the redistricting process after the 2020 census.
  4. ↑ 2020 Census Apportionment Results, "Table A. Apportionment Population, Resident Population, and Overseas Population: 2020 Census and 2010 Census," accessed October 15, 2021
  5. ↑ 2000 Census, Population in 2000 of the American states
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