Texas will gain two congressional seats due to Hispanic population boom

Texas will gain two congressional seats as a result of population growth, especially among residents of color, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday.

As a result, the state will have 38 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives over the next decade. More detailed census data will be released this fall, which state lawmakers will use to redraw legislative and congressional districts in a closely-watched, partisan process.

Texas' population has been growing steadily for decades, fueling the state's growing number of seats in Congress. Since 1950, the state has added 17 seats, nearly doubling the size of its congressional delegation.

In the last decade, this growth has been largely driven by an increase in the state's Hispanic population, which grew by more than 2 million people between 2010 and 2020, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau last June. Although white residents still retain a majority, the bureau estimates that Hispanics will soon become the largest population group in the state.

Texas is one of six states that will gain seats as a result of the latest census, along with Oregon, Montana, Colorado, North Carolina and Florida. Seven states, including California, will lose seats.