The majority of the nation's sparsely populated rural counties lost even more residents in the last decade, though some of the counties — particularly those in the Mountain West — saw population gains that may be the result of retirees striking out for areas that are both scenic and affordable, according to a Times analysis of figures released by the Census Bureau on Tuesday.
The data offer the first detailed portrait of heartland America in a decade, covering the roughly 1,400 counties of fewer than 20,000 people. The numbers also show a growing Latino presence in these counties.
Such data had been hard to come by previously. Concentrated from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountain region, the counties constitute half of the United States by area, but were too sparsely populated to provide meaningful statistics as the Census Bureau rolled out a new yearly national survey in the mid-2000s.
Teenagers are giving birth at the lowest rates noted in seven decades of record-keeping, according to government statistics released Tuesday.
The National Center for Health Statistics report doesn't speculate on why the birthrate has fallen, but two decades of public-health initiatives to curb teenage pregnancy may be paying dividends. Outside experts said the economy, too, could be a factor.
The report shows that the teen birthrate fell to 39.1 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19 in 2009. That's a 6% drop from 2008 and the lowest rate since 1940, when the government began keeping track. In 1991, by contrast, the rate was 61.8 per 1,000.Washington D.C. now larger than Wyoming, but still powerless in Congress
The Real Census Story: A Hispanic Voter Boom
We now know which states will lose and gain representation next year, but the real Census-politics story won't be written for a few months, when we find out how many Hispanic voters the country has gained.
The answer will affect more than just House seats: It could put typically red Sun Belt states in the blue column for presidential elections to come.
Census officials have been predicting a sharp rise in the Hispanic population, based on the 2000 population numbers, for the past few years. They'll release the 2010 race/origin breakdowns in February or March, confirming or denying their yearly best guesses.
Republicans should be happy about reapportionment, at first glance.
The big story is that Texas, a bright red state, which gained four House seats and Electoral College votes, while Rust Belt states and Democratic strongholds lost them. Ohio and New York each lost two; Michigan and Pennsylvania each lost one.
The national population shifts, however, bear the clear marks of a Hispanic population boom, meaning the political ramifications are more complicated than a simple net-plus for the GOP. Including Texas, the states to gain population are, by and large, states with already high and growing Hispanic segments: Florida, Arizona, and Nevada.
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