[originaltext] Every ten years the United States government counts the natio

Every ten years the United States government counts the national population and asks people questions about how they live. The United States has collected census data since 1790 as a requirement of the Constitution. The census in 2010 was the 23rd in the nation’s history.
    The population as of April 1st—the official census day—was 308,745,538.
    The population grew by 27 million people over the past ten years. That was an increase of more than nine percent since the last census in 2000.
    (33) Growth in the United States population slowed compared to the last census. Between 1990 and 2000,the nation’s population grew by about 13 percent.
    In fact,the only decade with slowest growth was between 1930 and 1940. The country grew by a little more than seven percent at that time,which was during the Great Depression.
    (34) Nevada had the largest population growth in percentage terms during the last ten years. Nevada’s population grew by about 35 percent.
    The state with the largest population is California. More than 37 million people live there. Wyoming has the smallest population of all the 50 states, at about half a million people.
    (35) So why do these numbers matter to the federal government? The results of the United States Census decide how many seats each state will have in the House of Representatives.
    The count also guides how more than 400 billion dollars a year in federal assistance is divided. The more people counted,the more money the states can receive. This federal money goes to help pay for things like roads,schools and health care.
33. What do we learn from the census in 2010 of the United States?
34. What does the census in 2010 say?
35. Why are the census data important to the federal government?