Congressional Apportionment

Fast Facts

The Constitution provides for proportional representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and the seats in the House are apportioned based on state population.

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Historical Highlight

Historical Highlight

Klipper Desk, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
The founders designed the House of Representatives to represent the people rather than the states, which each send two Members to the U.S. Senate. Article I, Section II of the Constitution provides each state at least one U.S. Representative, while the size of a state’s delegation to the House depends on its total population. Based on the 1787 national population, each House Member in the First Federal Congress (1789–1791) represented 30,000 citizens. As U.S. territory expanded and the population grew, the Membership of House of Representatives increased and individual Members’ constituencies were enlarged.

Apportionment by State (PDF)