The Manchester City Charter requires that ward lines divide the city into twelve wards of equal population as is practicable. To achieve that goal, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen must review the federal census data every ten years to determine if redistricting is necessary. In late September, 2021, census data was released to communities across the state and Manchester began a thorough review of that data over the ensuing six weeks.
The Queen City's population blossomed to 115,644 residents in 2020 from 109,565 in 2010. Of note, wards 3, 11, and 12 saw significant increases over the last decade. As we look to the objective in any redistricting process, we must first establish the ideal population distribution across all wards based on the total population of the city; current data in Manchester suggests that would be 9,637 residents in each of our twelve wards. The most daunting task in the process is to then make necessary adjustments to ward boundaries given that some wards need additional residents to fall within a reasonable deviation of that ideal population number while other wards need to reduce their population numbers to arrive closer to the ideal number and, most importantly, adjust those boundaries using easily identifiable physical features such as streets, railroad tracks, and surface waters.
On December 7, 2021, the Board of Mayor & Aldermen held a public hearing on the proposed redistricting results in order to finalize Manchester's ward boundaries. Several residents participated in the public hearing and offered feedback on the proposed redistricting plan. Minor adjustments were made to the proposal to which the board formally adopted and ordained on December 21, 2021 (Final ward line descriptions and ward maps can be found on our Ward Lines page). The next scheduled redistricting of the city of Manchester will begin in the fall of 2030.
A comprehensive explanation of the redistricting process and results of this review may be found below in the 2020 Census Redistricting Report. You will also find the existing/proposed ward line adjustments for each individual ward in a clear, individual color map among the following list: