Rhode Island’s population totaled 1,055,247 on April 1, an increase of 6,928 since 2000, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Census Bureau based on last spring’s decennial national count.

The only state which saw its population grow more slowly than Rhode Island’s over the past 10 years was Michigan, which actually lost 0.6% of its residents from 2000 to 2010. (Puerto Rico’s population shrank 2.2%, as well.)

The other big news locally was that Massachusetts will indeed lose one of its 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2012 elections. Prepare for that scramble among the Bay State’s congressmen I previewed last month. Rhode Island has two seats and will keep them both.

Rhode Island’s population has roughly doubled over the last century while the nation’s has tripled. Here’s a chart showing the number of residents in the state from 1910 to 2010:

And here’s another chart showing the 10-year percentage change in the state’s population. The growth in the number of residents from 2000 to 2010 was the second-slowest in the last century; it was only slower in 1970-1980:

The U.S. population stood at a bit over 300 million on April 1 – 308,745,538 – up 9.7% from 281,421,908 in 2000, the Census Bureau said. A century ago, in 1910, the country had fewer than 100 million residents. The American population first topped 200 million in the 1970 Census.

This map from the Census Bureau shows which states gained the most residents over the past 10 years. Nevada was tops, with a 35% jump in its population. The only places that last population were Michigan and Puerto Rico:

Along with Massachusetts, the other states losing a U.S. House seat are Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; losing two seats are New York and Ohio. Texas will gain four seats, Florida will gain two, and one seat each will go to Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington. While not unexpected, that list will make Democrats cringe.

Rhode Island’s population of 1,055,247 includes 2,680 people who live overseas; the resident population here in the U.S. was 1,052,567.

Update: Rhode Island ranks as the 8th-smallest U.S. state by population at just over 1 million. The states with the fewest total residents are:

1. Wyoming (568,300 residents)
2. Vermont (630,337)
3. North Dakota (675,905)
4. Alaska (721,523)
5. South Dakota (819,761)
6. Delaware (900,877)
7. Montana (994,416)
8. Rhode Island (1,055,247)
9. New Hampshire (1,321,445)
10. Maine (1,333,074)
11. Hawaii (1,366,862)
12. Idaho (1,573,499)