MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota will keep all eight of its U.S. House seats based on the newest U.S. Census count.

The 2010 Census reports Tuesday that Minnesota’s population is 5.31 million, up 7.8 percent from the 4.9 million Minnesotans counted 10 years ago.

That’s slower growth than the nation as a whole, which grew 9.7 percent, but faster than the neighboring states of North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Every 10 years, the bureau releases population figures that are used to distribute the 435 seats in the U.S. House. Fast-growing states tend to pick up seats at the expense of those growing more slowly.

Demographers say Minnesota was on the edge of losing a seat for the first time since 1960 as the nation’s population continues to shift south and west.