Iowa population expected to pass 3 million

Perhaps this time, it will stick.

The U.S. Census Bureau is estimating today that Iowa's population surpassed the 3 million mark this year.

The government says the state's population was at 3,007,856 on July 1, up from 2,993,987 the year before.

This is the second time the Census Bureau has put Iowa's population above 3 million. It did the same last year but revised the 2008 figure below that mark in its latest release.

The government's 2009 estimates are the last that will be issued before the official Census is taken next April. Those figures will be used to apportion the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Iowa is expected to lose a seat in Congress. If it happens, it will bring the state's seats in the House to four.

The state continues to see sluggish growth, according to the latest estimates, which measured population between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009. Iowa grew by less than half a percentage point during that time. Only 11 states grew at a slower rate.

Since the 2000 Census, Iowa's population has grown by only 81,000 people, according to Census estimates.

Wyoming had the fastest growth rate in the country, seeing its population go up just more than two percentage points. Texas saw the highest nominal growth, adding 478,000 people over the 12-month period.

California continues to be the most populous state.

Maine, Michigan and Rhode Island lost population, according to the estimates.

Neighboring Illinois grew at just more than a half percentage point to 12,910,409. It also is expected to lose a congressional seat after next year's re-apportionment.

-- Ed Tibbetts, Quad-City Times