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Date: 9/2/2021
WESTERN MASS. – Area legislators say the information provided by the 2020 Census largely met expectations.
While initially delayed, the U.S. Census Bureau released population data that will be vital to redistricting that could take place for local as well as Congressional districts.
Overall during the past 10 years, Massachusetts experienced a 482,288-person increase in population, representing 7.4 percent jump to just over 7 million residents.
One lesson from the 2020 Census data is that neighboring towns can be a world apart in terms of growth. Hampden’s population is down 3.4 percent, while Wilbraham’s population has increased by 2.8 percent. Longmeadow’s population has stayed stagnant, only increasing 0.4 percent, but next door, East Longmeadow has experienced growth of 4.5 percent.
“By and large, there’s been some development in East Longmeadow. New housing, which is new families, which is good,” state Rep. Angelo Puppolo said. The town has 270 more homes now than in 2010. By contrast, Longmeadow has seen only 19 new houses built in the past decade. Similarly, while there are almost three times as many residents in Wilbraham as there are in Hampden, more than 11 times the number of new homes have been constructed in Wilbraham.
But housing availability isn’t everything.
“I think there’s a number of factors,” Puppolo said, explaining why some municipalities in the Pioneer Valley have grown. “Western Massachusetts is a pristine area, it’s a great place to live.” He reasoned that larger properties are available at lower prices than in Metro Boston and Cape Cod, but the commute to central and Eastern Massachusetts is shorter than if one lived in the Berkshires.
“Even the pandemic has caused people to rethink their lives,” Puppolo said, noting that those changes will be included in the next census.
Not all of western Massachusetts saw increases in population. State Sen. Eric Lesser described the population shifts as a “mixed picture,” noting that “population continued to shift from western to eastern Mass.,” and Franklin and Berkshire Counties saw losses in their number of residents. Even the increases in Hampden and Hampshire counties were “below the overall statewide average,” Lesser said.
“To reverse this trend, we need our economy here in Western Mass. to grow much faster, so we can attract new businesses and young families,” Lesser said. “This is why our work on East-West Rail, worker training, high-tech manufacturing, faster broadband, more housing and high-quality public schools is so urgent, and will continue to be at the top of my agenda.”
According to state Rep. Brain Ashe, the shifts in population are not a cause for concern. “These changes are normal for any town or city. There’s a myriad of factors that can be attributed to these changes over the last decade – jobs, schools, or pace of life,” said Ashe. He also said that he doesn’t believe the population shifts will lead to significant changes in redistricting or funding.
Ashe notes that Western and eastern Massachusetts have always possessed a discrepancy due to the population differences. Despite the difference, Ashe believes Western Mass. holds equal significance. “Our school systems, roads, and jobs are just as important as any in Massachusetts and we've come to learn that we must always be vigilant in securing as much funding and support for our constituents,” said Ashe.
The demographic makeup of residents has also shifted in the area, keeping with an overall trend seen across the state and the country.
“The census also shows a population that is increasingly diverse and multicultural, so efforts toward inclusion and equity must also be an urgent priority.”
When it comes to redistricting, Puppolo explained, the Massachusetts House of Representatives is locked at 160 districts, provided for in Article 101, Section 1 of the state constitution. Likewise, the state Senate will always have 40 delegates. Currently, each member of the house represents about 42,000 constituents. Puppolo said the redistricting will work to split the additional residents equally between members.
“Maybe we’ll have 45,000,” constituents after the district lines are redrawn to evenly distribute residents among representatives. Referring to the House Chair of the Redistricting Committee, Puppolo said, “Chairman [Michael] Moran, I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him.”