Washington will gain a seat in the House of Representatives based on population growth recorded by the 2010 census. The census data, released Wednesday, Feb. 23, showed not only growth in population, but also growth in diversity throughout the state.
The added representative will begin work during the next congressional session in 2013, said Yi Zhao, state chief demographer. The federal government will increase funds for Washington because of the growth in population, she said.
According to the census, the population of Washington grew by a total of 14 percent. Whatcom County increased by more than 15 percent since 2000. Bellingham’s population grew by 20.6 percent and is now the 12th largest city in the state. In the 2000 census, Bellingham ranked 10th.
Whatcom County's population increased since 2000, but not by as much as we have seen in past censuses, said Barbara Brenner, Whatcom County councilmember.
Brenner attributes this decrease in growth to a shift migration throughout the county and the country.
“We are entering a completely new paradigm with what is going to happen,” Brenner said. “I’m not real optimistic about it. It is not a cycle. I think things are changing completely.”
Brenner said changes in the economy and climate acted as incentives for people to “hunker down” and become more sustainable, rather than move around.
Within the state, 76 cities showed population loss, Zhao said.
Zhao said it was hard to identify a specific trend because there are many factors that feed into changes in population.
“There are places we call retired cities, where the population is older and therefore experience more deaths than births,” she said.
Zhao said there would be an analysis of demographics for each city in Washington, but more time and information is needed.
“This is the first release,” she said. “All we know is population and race.”
According to the census, the largest growth in race was among the Hispanic population, with an increase of more than 70 percent in the state since 2000. In Whatcom County, Hispanic people currently make up 7.8 percent of the population.
“This is one of the least diverse places I have ever lived,” Brenner said. “Seventy percent sounds like a lot, but it may only be a lot of a little. You could have that increase easily without having a large number of people.”
This growth is not based solely on immigration, Zhao said. In Washington, the Hispanic demographic is younger and has a high fertility rate. Many first and second-generation people need to be taken into account for the growth, she said.
According to the census, the current population of Bellingham is 80,885 people and the population of Whatcom County is 201,140.
In both the city and the county, more than 80 percent of the population is white. The next leading racial group is Hispanic, representing approximately 7 percent of the population in both Bellingham and the county.
According to the census, Seattle remains the most populous city and King County the most populous county. Both showed an increase in population since 2000, Seattle by 8 percent and King County by 11 percent.
Franklin County had the most growth in the state, with a population increase of more than 25 percent.
The nationwide census data has not been released. Information for all states will be available before April 1.
