Earlier this month, the U.S. Census Bureau released additional information on top of what had been released in April giving us a developing snapshot of what the United States looks like compared to its composition in 2010.

The data represent where people were living as of April 1, 2020. Additional, more specific information is coming next month that will give those tasked with the job of reapportioning legislative and congressional districts the population tools to begin their work, which will be needed to be completed quickly so prospective candidates will know what district they live in, and this information may be a factor in whether they run for office.

You might recall a few years ago that two candidates from our area decided to move into their respective new districts so that they did not seem like carpetbaggers after the state Supreme Court ordered a realignment of the Congressional districts.

A candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives does not have to live in the district which he or she represents. In other words, a candidate from the Pittsburgh area can run for the seat now held by Rep. Dan Meuser, whose district includes Carbon and Schuylkill counties. Naturally, such a scenario would give this person’s in-district opponent an incredible built-in campaign issue, which would be difficult to overcome.

The Times News area of Carbon, Schuylkill, Monroe, Northampton and Lehigh counties overall has gained population even though three of the five counties have lost people since 2010. The losses in Carbon, Schuylkill and Monroe counties were more than offset by the striking gains in Northampton and Lehigh counties.

Lehigh leads the way with a 7.2% increase (sixth-highest in the state among the 67 counties), while Northampton had growth of 5.1% (13th highest). Schuylkill was the biggest loser, dropping 3.5%; Carbon was down 0.9% and Monroe, 0.8%.

I am suspicious of the Monroe numbers and believe the count was off. The same can be true in Carbon County, especially in the Kidder and Penn Forest area where out-of-staters poured in during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An inaccurate count, which many state and local officials feared would occur because of data-gathering restrictions, means lost dollars to communities through state and federal funding.

“There is a definite financial impact,” Carbon County Commissioner Chris Lukasevich told Times News staff writer Jarrad Hedes recently.

Pennsylvania tacked on 300,321 residents (2.4%), ranking it 42nd in the nation’s growth percentage. The slow growth cost Pennsylvania another seat in the House of Representatives starting with the 2022 midterm election - 17 instead of 18. The number of electoral votes also is diminished by one - from 20 to 19.

The census snapshot provides some really interesting data. I have chosen just a few for this column.

• Hispanics now make up a majority of Allentown’s population with 68,000 or 54%. This propels Allentown into third place by percentage among the state’s cities with the greatest number of Hispanics, next only to Reading (69%) and Hazleton (63%).

• In Lehigh County, there was a 48% increase in the Hispanic population; in Northampton, it was 43%; Monroe, 4%; Schuylkill, 2.8%; and Carbon, 2.3%.

• Philadelphia is the fastest growing city in the state numerically with 77,791 additional residents; Allentown is second, adding 7,813, and Reading is third with a growth of 7,030. Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County is fourth after adding 6,314 additional residents. The Upper Macungie growth was fueled by an 81% population gain in the village of Breinigsville, home of an enormous Amazon fulfillment center and an explosion of large warehouses and several major industries.

• Smithfield Township was the fastest growing community in Monroe County with an 8.3% gain (from 7,357 to 7,967), while Eldred Township had the sharpest decline in the county, dropping 10.9%, from 2,910 to 2,596. Of the four boroughs in the county, only Stroudsburg gained population, increasing by 6.5%, while East Stroudsburg, Delaware Water Gap and Mount Pocono lost residents.

I will have more detailed information on Carbon and Schuylkill communities when it becomes available in a few weeks.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.