US Census Bureau data released Thursday shows Connecticut has not only diversified over the past decade, but also added 31,847 more residents.

Most of this population growth occurred in Fairfield County, which gained 40,590 people. Hartford and New Haven counties also saw population increases, but the other five counties lost people.

Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz said she was encouraged by the data.

“In my role as chair of the Connecticut Full Count Committee, I am committed to overseeing the most comprehensive and comprehensive census outreach effort in Connecticut history,” Bysiewicz said. “Today’s data shows the fruits of our labor. Connecticut’s tally was a national leader: our overall response rate of 99.9% exceeded the national average and our self-response rate of 70.6% exceeded Connecticut’s self-response rate in 2010 by 69.5%.

Population growth is enough to prevent the state from losing a seat in Congress.

Once a decade, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is required to adjust the Congressional and Legislative Assembly electoral district lines to reflect U.S. Census survey results and ensure voters in each district get representation. equal. They now have a September 15 deadline to meet and they will need to make some adjustments for areas with higher population growth.

“A change of a thousand people in a particular area of ​​Stamford makes a big difference to House District lines in a community like that,” said Rep. Gregg Haddad, D-Mansfield. “The challenge gets bigger as the districts get smaller.”

The redistricting committee will also be the first to implement a new law passed this year that requires incarcerated people to be counted as members of the electoral districts where they lived before being imprisoned. In the past, they were counted in the neighborhood that houses the correctional facility where they are incarcerated.

Connecticut’s population has also become more diverse.

Data released by the census showed Connecticut’s white population fell from 77.6% in 2010 to 66.4% in 2020, while the Hispanic or Latino population fell from 13.4% to 17.3% . The black population increased from 10.1% to 10.8% and the Asian population from 3.8% to 4.8%.

Fairfield County is the most diverse of the eight counties in the state, with a white population of 61%. It is closely followed by Hartford County, with a 61% white population, and New Haven County with 62.9%.

Cheri Quickmire, of Common Cause in Connecticut, said the changes will also impact redistricting.

“While this process has always been conducted behind closed doors with minimal public participation in the form of local public hearings, 2021 is our year to turn the tide and ensure that the voices of our communities, especially those of Black, Indigenous , Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islander and other communities of color are at the center of the conversation,” she said.

In terms of city rankings, Bridgeport remained the largest city in the state. Stamford jumped from fourth to second, with growth of 12,827, or 10%, overtaking both New Haven and Hartford. Falling to fourth place, the state capital has lost 3,721 inhabitants in 10 years. The rest of the top 10 most populous cities remained the same with Waterbury in fifth position, followed by Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, West Hartford and Greenwich.