COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's population grew by double-digit percentage points for the fifth decade in a row, but that wasn't enough for the state to add another U.S. House seat, according to U.S. census data for 2020 released Monday.
South Carolina had 5,118,425 people as of April 1, 2020. The state grew by 10.7% from 2010, adding 493,041 people, according to the census data.
South Carolina added its seventh U.S. House seat in 2010 but was not one of the six states to gain an additional seat in Congress in 2020.
The Census Bureau only released state population data Monday. Breakdowns by race, gender and age as well as county-by-county and neighborhood figures will be released later.
Estimates over the past 10 years indicate much of South Carolina's growth has come from people moving into the state, especially older residents who are retired or close to retirement.
The sharpest growth has happened along the coast, especially in Horry County and in York and Lancaster counties, just south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The census data will be used to redraw borders for U.S. House, state Senate, state House and local districts.
South Carolina's population was enough to move past Alabama's 5 million people to become the 23rd most populous state in the U.S. Minnesota is the 22nd most populous state at 5.7 million people.
The U.S. census is conducted every 10 years, and South Carolina has added people in every decade since the first count in 1790. The smallest growth came in the decade during the Civil War when the state added 1,898 people.
South Carolina's has grown by at least 10% in each decade 1980, when the state grew by 20.5% and topped 3 million people for the first time.
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