Every ten years, after each U. S. census is completed, the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are reapportioned to the states based on each state's relative population. The only time the number of House seats deviates from 435 is between the time that the number of states changes and the time of the next reapportionment.
First, one House seat is assigned to each state, since that is the minimum that each state must have. Then for each state they calculate the state's population divided by the square root of the product of the number of House seats assigned to that state so far and that number plus 1. The states are listed in descending order according to those numbers. Since at this point each state has been assigned one seat so far, the list is initially in descending order according to population. The next House seat is assigned to the state at the top of the list, that state's number is recalculated, and the state is moved down list according to its new number, so the states are again in descending order by their calculated number. The next House seat is assigned to the state that had risen to the top of the list, its new number is calculated, and it moves down so it's in order by its new number. The assignment continues like this until all of the House seats have been assigned.
While a state has one seat assigned to it, its place in the list is determined by its population divided by 1.414 (the square root of 2). As the number of seats per state approaches infinity, the number by which its population is divided approaches the number of seats assigned to the state so far plus one half.
The object of the reapportionment is to get as close as mathematically possible to every Representative representing the same number of residents, and this method was found to work best to that end. So if you calculate each state's ratio of number of people per Representative, the standard deviation of all those ratios should be as low as possible. To give a simplified example, let's say that the country has four states, and 10% of the country's population lives in State A, 20% lives in State B, 30% lives in State C, and 40% lives in State D. When the apportionment is done, 10% of the House seats should have been assigned to State A, 20% to State B, 30% to State C and 40% to State D.
Seats in the US House of Representatives are apportioned by population, with more populous states having a greater number of representatives. Each state must have at least one seat regardless of its comparative population, and the remainder are divided among the states, according to the US Census (held every ten years). Because the total number of voting representatives has been "capped" at 435, some states will gain seats only when other states lose seats, based on population changes.
Seats in the US House of Representatives are apportioned by population, with more populous states having a greater number of representatives. Each state must have at least one seat regardless of its comparative population, and the remainder are divided among the states, according to the US Census (held every ten years). Because the total number of voting representatives has been "capped" at 435, some states will gain seats only when other states lose seats, based on population changes.
The voters of the United States.
This representation would be based upon population.
The Great Compromise stated that representation in the House of Representatives should be determined through population. While the Senate would have an equal number of representatives from each state, the House of Representatives would include one representative for each 30,000 individuals in a state.
In the United States, representation in the House is based on population, as determined by the Census. Which is what makes the Census such a big deal; with a fixed number of representatives, if one state loses population while another gains, that state may lose a representative to the other state!
The Constitution provides for a census every 10 years because this is how the seats for the House of Representative is determined. States with a smaller population, have fewer seats.
By the people
House of reps
House of Representatives
In the Senate, each state gets 2 representatives. In the House of Representatives, the number of representatives per state is based on the population. This is determined from the census every ten years.
The Representation Compromise gave both large states and small states the type of representation they asked for. This was done by changing the representation standards in the houses of Congress. Large states had wanted representation based on population. This standard was accepted in the House of Representatives, which allowed the number of representatives to be determined by state population. Smaller states wanted equal representation, despite population size. This was accepted by the Senate, in which all states have the same number of representatives.
Main problem was the representation of large and small states. In the Great Compromise, the House of Representatives representative number would be by state population, while the Senate representative number was a fixed 2.
by the size of the statesmpopulation