The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau released this morning the first set of figures from its once-a-decade survey of the nation's population.

The new official population count in the U.S., according to this morning's release: 308,745,538.

That figure is an increase of 9.7 percent over the 2000 when the U.S. population was 281,421,906. According to the release, it's the slowest rate of growth since the Great Depression.

State-by-state Results
The Census Bureau reported population changes by total population growth and by percentage of growth. The most populous state is California with 37 million residents; the least populous state is Wyoming, with just over a half-million residents.

The state that gained the most population since 2000 Census is Texas, up more than 4 million residents. The state that gained the most as a percentage is Nevada up 35.1 percent from 2000.

Michigan was the only state that lost population in the latest count. Its population fell 0.6 percent, or 54,804. Puerto Rico also saw a decline, losing 2.2 percent of its population.

Census costs less than expected

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a press conference streamed live on the Internet that the Census project came in "well under budget," as much as $1.87 billion.