Topeka ? Kansas kept its four U.S. House seats after the release Tuesday of population figures from this year’s census, but the state’s incoming governor said it faces a potential loss of clout in another decade if it doesn’t improve its economy and boost its population more quickly.

Gov.-elect Sam Brownback, a Republican who takes office Jan. 10, also said he expects legislators to rewrite congressional district boundaries so that the already sprawling 1st District of western and central Kansas grows significantly.

The U.S. Census Bureau said Kansas’ population grew by 6.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, up almost 165,000 residents, to more than 2.85 million. The rate of growth was less than in most other states but still enough to keep Kansas from losing a seat in Congress, when neighboring Iowa and Missouri did.

The result was what most Kansas officials expected, though Brownback said during an interview with The Associated Press that he had worries the state might lose a House seat.

“We get too close to the edge on this, and I don’t want us to lose any representation in Washington,” Brownback said. “You’re on a likely trajectory to lose in 10 years, but that’s why you’ve got to change the trajectory.”

Kansas lost a single seat after the 1990 census, part of a decades-long decline in representation. Before the 1930 census, the state had eight House seats.

Congressional representation is important in making sure the state’s needs are not overlooked. The census also determines how about $400 billion in federal money will be divided among the states.

The Legislature will redraw the state’s congressional districts for the 2012 election. Republicans are likely to make sure the districts remain geared to the GOP’s advantage, and they have the clout to do so after winning all four congressional seats, large majorities in both legislative chambers and control of the governor’s office in this year’s election. Republican Sam Brownback will succeed Parkinson.

But legislators still must account for changes in population within the state. Kansas officials believe data released later by the Census Bureau will show a continuing shift from rural areas to urban and suburban areas. Rural western Kansas seems particularly likely to have lost people, while the Kansas City metropolitan area has had significant growth.

The last census data for county populations, comparing figures for 2000 and 2009, showed that only 20 of the state’s 105 counties had picked up population.

The 1st District is expected to expand to cover an even wider area, while the boundaries of the 3rd District, centered on the Kansas City area, will probably shrink. Through 2009, the fastest growing area has been Johnson County, home to affluent Kansas City-area suburbs in the 3rd District.

“You’ll see a movement, west to east,” predicted state House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican.