Did any state gain or lose seats after the 2020 Census and which ones changed for 2022 and 2024?

1. The hard numbers: who gained and who lost — the Census tally that decided seats

The apportionment released from the 2020 Census allocated seats based on population counts and the Huntington-Hill method, producing a clear ledger: Texas gained two seats and five other states gained one apiece (Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon), while seven states each lost a seat (California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia). The Census Bureau made these counts public on April 26, 2021, and they provide the legally binding basis for state delegations ^{[4] [2]}. These numerical shifts reflect population growth concentrated in the South and West versus relative stagnation in parts of the Northeast and Midwest; the apportionment itself does not assign which specific districts change, only how many members each state receives ^{[1] [2]}. The seat totals, not partisan control, are the immediate product of the census formula.

2. How those seat changes translated into 2022 maps — state action and varied outcomes

Once apportionment established seat counts, states redrew maps for the 2022 elections; the impact depended on state procedures, partisan control, and timing. States that gained seats had to create new districts, while states that lost seats had to consolidate or eliminate districts, often pitting incumbents against one another. The practical result across 2021–2022 varied: some states used independent or bipartisan commissions to draw maps, while others had legislatures controlling the process, producing divergent outcomes in competitiveness and partisan tilt ^[3]. Legal challenges and court-ordered maps also altered maps in several states ahead of 2022, meaning that the political consequences of reapportionment were mediated by litigation as much as by population counts ^[3].

3. What changed further for 2024 — litigation, revisions, and the partisan picture

Between 2022 and 2024, court decisions and additional redistricting adjustments continued to reshape the landscape created by reapportionment. Some states revised lines after litigation or court remands, leading to notable adjustments in states like North Carolina and Alabama that affected 2024 competitiveness, and analysts warned that revised lines could produce different partisan outcomes than originally drawn ^[6]. The Brennan Center and similar analysts argued in late 2024 that the overall effect of reapportionment combined with partisan mapmaking gave Republicans an aggregate advantage in the 2024 House map, while noting variation state-by-state where Democrats retained or gained favorable configurations ^[5]. Thus the seat counts from the census remained constant, but the partisan distribution of those seats was still contestable through redistricting and courts.

4. Contrasting narratives: raw census facts versus claims about partisan advantage

The factual claim that specific states gained or lost seats after the 2020 Census is straightforward and supported by Census apportionment tables; disagreement arises when analysts interpret how those seat changes affected party balance. Some observers emphasize that population shifts benefitted Southern and Western states—trends that favored Republicans in many legislatures—and point to maps that increased Republican-leaning House districts ^{[3] [5]}. Others note that Democratic-controlled states and independent commissions mitigated some partisan extremes, and that litigation produced more balanced outcomes in certain jurisdictions ^[3]. Both facts are true: the apportionment numbers are fixed, while the partisan consequences were shaped by differing redistricting authorities and court rulings.

5. Bottom line and lingering variables to watch

The bottom line: the list of states that gained and lost seats after the 2020 Census is settled and was applied for the 2022 and 2024 cycles; Texas (+2), Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon (+1 each) gained seats, while California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (-1 each) lost seats ^{[1] [2]}. What remains subject to interpretation are the political effects of those changes as maps were drawn, litigated, and sometimes re-drawn — processes that continued into 2024 and influenced the partisan balance in ways analysts dispute ^{[5] [6]}. For a clear factual answer to the original question, the Census apportionment tables provide the definitive list; for political impact, consult map-specific litigation and partisan-control analyses. ^{[4] [3]}