There are two main takeaways from the recent U.S. Census Bureau data on Connecticut: the state is becoming more diverse, and it added 31,847 residents over the last 10 years.
The population growth is important because it will prevent the state from losing a congressional seat (Connecticut currently has five). Now, however, a bipartisan group of lawmakers must adjust the congressional and legislative voting district lines by Sept. 15 to reflect areas with bigger population growth.
Here are other key points from the Census survey:
Most of the population growth was in Fairfield County, which gained 40,590 people.
Hartford and New Haven counties also saw increases in population, but the other five counties lost population.
Stamford outpaced the state’s overall growth and became the second biggest city in Connecticut behind Bridgeport.
Connecticut’s white population dropped from 77.6% in 2010 to 66.4% in 2020. The Hispanic or Latino population grew from 13.4% to 17.3%, the Black population grew from 10.1% to 10.8%, and the Asian population grew from 3.8% to 4.8%.
Fairfield County is the most diverse of the state’s eight counties with a white population of 61%. It’s followed closely by Hartford County with a 61% white population, and New Haven County with 62.9%.
Connecticut’s Census count was a national leader, with a 99.9% overall response rate.
You can see the breakdown of the 2020 Connecticut Census data by town here.