We've posted selected 2010 census statistics for all the current
(pre-redistricted) congressional and state legislative districts in the
country. You can obtain the reports for any individual state by following
the state links at http://www.publicmapping.org/resources/state-resources
and then following the "Current Districts" link.
Some highlights:
The average district is over-populated by 0.98% from the ideal population
for its legislative chamber. The average African-American majority VAP
district is under-populated by 12.21% and the average Latino majority VAP
district is under-populated by -.75%. The African-American statistics
conform with the population estimates leading into the 2010 census, but
under-population of the Latino districts may come as a bit of a surprise
given that the community is the fastest growing in the country. What this
may tell us is that the Latino community growth is not in the existing
communities. Demographers that I have spoken with attribute the decline in
the minority communities to two factors: children leaving home and
gentrification. In all, these statistics may indicate that at least in terms
of representation, constituencies are becoming a more racially and
ethnically heterogeneous and that we are un-sorting ourselves as a country.
The most under-populated districts are in the Katrina-ravaged parts of
Louisiana and Mississippi. The top five from most under-populated to least
from their ideal population are:
State District
LA State House District 99
LA State House District 104
LA State House District 103
MS State House District 115
LA State Senate District 2
The most over-populated districts are all found in Nevada. The top five from
most over-populated to least from their ideal population are:
State District
NV Assembly District 11
NV Assembly District 28
NV Assembly District 6
NV Assembly District 31
NV Assembly District 34
The smallest population district is New Hampshire State House District 3,
Coos with a total population of 3,233.
The largest population district is California State Senate District 37 with
a total population of 1,215,876.
If you're having trouble reading these statistics, we've posted this
information here, where you can find a link to an Excel spreadsheet with
these data.
http://www.publicmapping.org/News/legislativedistrict2010censusstatistics
For the true data geeks, we are creating and posting block level databases
of merged election and census data. Some of these election data come from
state governments, others were collected by Stephen Ansolabehere and
Jonathan Rodden.
For these data, see: http://www.publicmapping.org/resources/data
These datasets are then incorporated into our DistrictBuilder software. Some
organizations are hosting our software for public access to mapping in
selected states, we are rolling out versions that can be loaded into your
own Amazon Web Services account as fast as we can generate databases and
configure the software. For academics, we are hosting free versions for
education purposes only -- teaching and research -- courtesy of Amazon for
Education.
For links to these public facing websites, see:
http://www.publicmapping.org/resources/software/demo
For instructions on how to load an instance into your own AWS account, see:
http://www.publicmapping.org/resources/software/software-admin-guide
============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, George Mason University Non-Resident Senior Fellow,
Brookings Institution
Mailing address:
(o) 703-993-4191 George Mason University
(f) 703-993-1399 Dept. of Public and International Affairs
[log in to unmask] 4400 University Drive - 3F4
http://elections.gmu.edu Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
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