NORTH DAKOTA (AP) – North Dakota reported the region’s highest rate of population growth with a 15.8% jump from 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Monday.

The state’s rate of growth was the fourth-highest in the nation. The Census Bureau’s first release of data from its 2020 headcount showed an increase of 106,503 residents, bringing North Dakota’s total population to 779,094 people. The population growth moved it from being the nation’s third-least populated states in 2010 to being the fourth-least populated in 2020.

Altogether, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281, the Census Bureau said, a 7.4 increase that was the second-slowest ever. The nation’s political center of gravity shifted further to the Republican-led South and West with states like Texas and Florida gaining congressional seats.

North Dakota remained the possessor of a single seat in the U.S. House. Meanwhile, Montana will gain a congressional seat after its population grew to 1,084,225 people.

North Dakota lawmakers will draw new legislative district lines later this year when they receive more detailed census data. The new districts are expected to show a continued loss of political clout in rural areas due to population shifts in the past decade.