Where We Are

The 1980 census shows a shift

As certainly as the sun rises, Americans are moving from the North and Midwest to the South and West. Preliminary 1980 census figures released last week indicated a U.S. population of 226 million, up 11% over 1970. Most states in the North and Midwest had increases below the national average. The two regions will lose an estimated 16 seats to the West and South when the census is used to reapportion the 1982 Congress. If, that is, the troubled head count is ever finished. A fire in Brooklyn destroyed New York returns; a recount is under way. A federal judge in Detroit has ordered adjustments for alleged undercounts there. The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court last week to set aside the judge's order so that the 1980 census can be delivered to the President by Dec. 31, as required by law.

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