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Trivia Answer
There are just over 747,000 people in the country for each member of the U.S. House of Representatives, based on 2018 census estimates. This number has risen over the years as the nation’s population has grown and the number of U.S. Representatives has remained at 435.
Two states have state legislative chambers that feature an even larger ratio of population to members.
Which states have state Senate districts with a greater population than congressional districts?
a. California and Florida
b. California and New York
c. California and Texas
d. Florida and Texas
The correct answer was 'c.'—California and Texas. See the chart below, which can be found here:
The following table represents the number of seats in each legislative chamber, each state's total population in following each census and how many citizen a state representative and state senator represent based on the census data.
To sort columns, click on the 
icon at the top of any column. Yellow cells indicate a value that decreased from 2000 to 2010.
| Number of seats | Population of state | Population per senator | Population per representative | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| States | Senators | Representatives | 2010 | 2000 | 2010 | 2000 | 2010 | 2000 |
| Alabama (S, H) | 35 | 105 | 4,779,736 | 4,447,100 | 136,564 | 127,060 | 45,521 | 42,353 |
| Alaska (S, H) | 20 | 40 | 710,231 | 626,932 | 35,512 | 31,347 | 17,756 | 15,673 |
| Arizona (S, H) | 30 | 60 | 6,392,017 | 5,130,632 | 213,067 | 171,021 | 106,534 | 85,511 |
| Arkansas (S, H) | 35 | 100 | 2,915,918 | 2,673,400 | 83,312 | 76,383 | 29,159 | 26,734 |
| California (S, A) | 40 | 80 | 37,253,956 | 33,871,648 | 931,349 | 846,791 | 465,674 | 423,396 |
| Colorado (S, H) | 35 | 65 | 5,029,196 | 4,301,261 | 143,691 | 122,893 | 77,372 | 66,173 |
| Connecticut (S, H) | 36 | 151 | 3,574,097 | 3,405,565 | 99,280 | 94,599 | 23,670 | 22,553 |
| Delaware (S, H) | 21 | 41 | 897,934 | 783,600 | 42,759 | 37,314 | 21,901 | 19,112 |
| Florida (S, H) | 40 | 120 | 18,801,310 | 15,982,378 | 470,033 | 399,559 | 156,678 | 133,186 |
| Georgia (S, H) | 56 | 180 | 9,687,653 | 8,816,453 | 172,994 | 157,437 | 53,820 | 48,980 |
| Hawaii (S, H) | 25 | 51 | 1,360,301 | 1,211,537 | 54,412 | 48,461 | 26,673 | 23,756 |
| Idaho (S, H) | 35 | 70 | 1,567,582 | 1,293,953 | 44,788 | 36,970 | 22,394 | 18,485 |
| Illinois (S, H) | 59 | 118 | 12,830,632 | 12,419,293 | 217,468 | 210,496 | 108,734 | 105,248 |
| Indiana (S, H) | 50 | 100 | 6,483,802 | 6,080,485 | 129,676 | 121,610 | 64,838 | 60,805 |
| Iowa (S, H) | 50 | 100 | 3,046,355 | 2,929,324 | 60,927 | 58,586 | 30,464 | 29,293 |
| Kansas (S, H) | 40 | 125 | 2,853,118 | 2,688,418 | 71,328 | 67,210 | 22,825 | 21,507 |
| Kentucky (S, H) | 38 | 100 | 4,339,367 | 4,041,769 | 114,194 | 106,362 | 43,394 | 40,418 |
| Louisiana (S, H) | 39 | 105 | 4,533,372 | 4,468,976 | 116,240 | 114,589 | 43,175 | 42,562 |
| Maine (S, H) | 35 | 153 | 1,328,361 | 1,274,923 | 37,953 | 36,426 | 8,682 | 8,333 |
| Maryland (S, H) | 47 | 141 | 5,773,552 | 5,296,486 | 122,842 | 112,691 | 40,947 | 37,564 |
| Massachusetts (S, H) | 40 | 160 | 6,547,629 | 6,349,097 | 163,691 | 158,727 | 40,923 | 39,682 |
| Michigan (S, H) | 38 | 110 | 9,883,640 | 9,938,444 | 260,096 | 261,538 | 89,851 | 90,349 |
| Minnesota (S, H) | 67 | 134 | 5,303,925 | 4,919,479 | 79,163 | 73,425 | 39,582 | 36,713 |
| Mississippi (S, H) | 52 | 122 | 2,967,297 | 2,844,658 | 57,063 | 54,705 | 24,322 | 23,317 |
| Missouri (S, H) | 34 | 163 | 5,988,927 | 5,595,211 | 176,145 | 164,565 | 36,742 | 34,326 |
| Montana (S, H) | 50 | 100 | 989,415 | 902,195 | 19,788 | 18,044 | 9,894 | 9,022 |
| Nebraska* (S) | 49 | 0 | 1,826,341 | 1,711,263 | 37,272 | 34,924 | 37,272 | 34,924 |
| Nevada (S, H) | 21 | 42 | 2,700,551 | 1,988,257 | 128,598 | 94,679 | 64,299 | 47,339 |
| New Hampshire (S, H) | 24 | 400 | 1,316,470 | 1,235,786 | 54,853 | 51,491 | 3,291 | 3,089 |
| New Jersey (S, A) | 40 | 80 | 8,791,894 | 8,414,350 | 219,797 | 210,359 | 109,899 | 105,179 |
| New Mexico (S, H) | 42 | 70 | 2,059,179 | 1,819,046 | 49,028 | 43,311 | 29,417 | 25,986 |
| New York (S, A) | 63 | 150 | 19,378,102 | 18,976,457 | 307,589 | 306,072 | 129,187 | 126,510 |
| North Carolina (S, H) | 50 | 120 | 9,535,483 | 8,049,313 | 190,710 | 160,986 | 79,462 | 67,078 |
| North Dakota (S, H) | 47 | 94 | 672,591 | 642,200 | 14,310 | 13,664 | 7,155 | 6,832 |
| Ohio (S, H) | 33 | 99 | 11,536,504 | 11,353,140 | 349,591 | 344,035 | 116,530 | 114,678 |
| Oklahoma (S, H) | 48 | 101 | 3,751,351 | 3,450,654 | 78,153 | 71,889 | 37,142 | 34,165 |
| Oregon (S, H) | 30 | 60 | 3,831,074 | 3,421,399 | 127,702 | 114,047 | 63,851 | 57,023 |
| Pennsylvania (S, H) | 50 | 203 | 12,702,379 | 12,281,054 | 254,048 | 245,621 | 62,573 | 60,498 |
| Rhode Island (S, H) | 38 | 75 | 1,052,567 | 1,048,319 | 27,699 | 27,587 | 14,034 | 13,978 |
| South Carolina (S, H) | 46 | 124 | 4,625,364 | 4,012,012 | 100,551 | 87,218 | 37,301 | 32,355 |
| South Dakota (S, H) | 35 | 70 | 814,180 | 754,844 | 23,262 | 21,567 | 11,631 | 10,783 |
| Tennessee (S, H) | 33 | 99 | 6,346,105 | 5,689,283 | 192,306 | 172,403 | 64,102 | 57,468 |
| Texas (S, H) | 31 | 150 | 25,145,561 | 20,851,829 | 811,147 | 672,640 | 167,637 | 139,012 |
| Utah (S, H) | 29 | 75 | 2,763,885 | 2,233,169 | 95,306 | 77,006 | 36,852 | 29,776 |
| Vermont (S, H) | 30 | 150 | 625,741 | 608,827 | 20,858 | 20,294 | 4,172 | 4,059 |
| Virginia (S, H) | 40 | 100 | 8,001,024 | 7,078,515 | 200,026 | 176,963 | 80,010 | 70,785 |
| Washington (S, H) | 49 | 98 | 6,724,540 | 5,894,121 | 137,236 | 120,288 | 68,618 | 60,144 |
| West Virginia (S, H) | 34 | 100 | 1,852,994 | 1,808,344 | 54,500 | 53,187 | 18,530 | 18,083 |
| Wisconsin (S, A) | 33 | 99 | 5,686,986 | 5,363,675 | 172,333 | 162,536 | 57,444 | 54,179 |
| Wyoming (S, H) | 30 | 60 | 563,626 | 493,782 | 18,788 | 16,459 | 9,394 | 8,230 |
| Total/Average | 1,971 | 5,413 | 308,143,815 | 281,472,856 | 156,339 | 142,807 | 59,626 | 51,999 |
Source: 2010 Census, Resident Population of the 50 States; 2000 Census, Population in 2000 of the American states
* Nebraska has a unicameral legislature
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