U.S. population increases by 9.7 percent

U.S. population increases by 9.7 percent

2010-12-22 16:31:46 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The U.S. Census Bureau announced on Tuesday that the 2010 Census showed the resident population of the United States on April 1 was 308,745,538, an increase of 9.7 percent from the 2000 U.S. resident population of 281,421,906.

The U.S. resident population represents the total number of people in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. "A big thanks to the American public for its overwhelming response to the 2010 Census," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. "The result was a successful count that came in on time and well under budget, with a final 2010 Census savings of $1.87 billion."

The most populous state was California with a population of 37,253,956 while the least populous state was Wyoming with 563,626 citzens. The state that gained the most numerically since the 2000 Census was Texas, which is up 4,293,741 to 25,145,561. The state which gained the most as a percentage of its 2000 Census count was Nevada, which was up 35.1 percent to 2,700,551.

Regionally, the South and the West picked up the bulk of the population increase, 14,318,924 and 8,747,621, respectively. But the Northeast and the Midwest also grew: 1,722,862 and 2,534,225.

Additionally, Puerto Rico's resident population was 3,725,789, a 2.2 percent decrease over the number counted a decade earlier.

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