Civil Service Practice Exam 2026 – Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Success!

The reason some states have more Representatives than others primarily relates to their population size. The U.S. House of Representatives is structured to ensure representation based on the number of people living in each state. The total number of Representatives is capped at 435, and these are apportioned among the states every ten years following the national census.

As a state's population increases or decreases, its number of Representatives can change during the apportionment process. This system is designed to ensure that each citizen's voice is represented proportionally in Congress, reflecting the principle of representative democracy. Therefore, the more people a state has, the more Representatives it will have to advocate for their interests at the federal level.

In contrast to population, factors such as state size, wealth, or admission date do not impact the number of Representatives allocated to a state. For example, a smaller state could have a large population and thus a greater representation compared to a larger state with fewer residents. Similarly, wealth does not factor into the equation for representation, nor does the timing of a state's admission into the Union have any bearing on the number of Representatives it receives.