BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts will retain all nine of its seats in the U.S. House following the release of new Census Bureau data Monday, slowing a century-long trend of the state losing seats.
The state lost a congressional seat in the 2010 census when the number of seats fell from 10 to nine after the state’s more modest population growth in the prior decade failed to keep pace with growth in other parts of the country.
The loss of seats was part of a historic trend.
Massachusetts added two seats after the 1910 census, bringing its total to a high of 16 seats for the 20th century, only to see those numbers steadily decline during the following decades with the state’s relative slower growth in population.
The 435 seats in the House of Representatives are divided among the states based on population. As growing states get more congressional seats because of population gains, states that lose population or do not grow as fast get fewer seats.
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