U.S. House and state legislature districts may be in for a major rewrite in 2020.

Rowan County’s total population hardly requires three congressional representatives, two state senators and two state representatives. Yet, legislative maps of the state carve out districts that give Rowan an impressive presence in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. Because districts in each political body are required to be equally sized, districts often twist and turn through counties.

In a recent analysis from the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, only one of the many political districts crossing through Rowan matches up with its ideal size. That district belongs to state Sen. Andrew Brock, a Republican who represents the 34th N.C. Senate District. The UNC analysis determined an ideally sized senate district contains 198,879 people. Brock’s district contains 198,901 people, just 21 more than the ideal number.

The analysis used census data and its neighborhood change dataset. The time period used for its estimates started in 2010 and ended in 2014.

The remainder of Rowan’s U.S. House and General Assembly districts fall below their respective ideal size — 764,920 for the U.S. House and 82,866 in the N.C. House. With large populations in districts, however, some deviation might be expected.

Rowan’s districts in U.S. Congress stand out as the most notable changes of any deviation from ideal size. All exceed the UNC-assigned 0.5 percent deviation. The 5th Congressional District, represented by Virginia Foxx, saw a noticeable growth in population, but fell short of the ideal size by about 2 percent. The 8th Congressional District, represented by Richard Hudson, saw similar growth, but fell short of the ideal size by 2.4 percent.

The 12th Congressional District, represented by Alma Adams, stands as the only one that grew and contained a larger population than ideal size.

The story of Rowan’s U.S. Congressional Districts is much the same as the entire state. Districts containing the most populated areas in North Carolina saw significant growth rates and topped the ideal size. Districts of mostly rural areas fell short.

Rep. Harry Warren, a Republican of the 77th State House District, represents a district with the largest percentage fluctuation from ideal size, according to the UNC analysis. It contains 78,564, which is more than 4,000 people or 5 percent less than ideal size. Warren isn’t alone in the deviation. Many N.C. House districts near urban areas — Wake and Mecklenburg — saw significant growth and deviated from ideal size by even greater percentage points than Warren’s.

Rep. Carl Ford, a Republican of the 76th House District, saw a relatively negligible growth rate and deviation from the ideal size in his area.

State Sen. Tom McInnis, of the 25th Senate District, also saw relatively small changes in population and deviation from ideal size when compared to other areas in the state.

In the N.C. Senate, for example, District 41 saw an increase in population of 15.7 percent, The district, which contains portions of Mecklenburg County, deviated from ideal size by 6 percent. The fastest growing N.C. House district — 92 — is also in Mecklenburg. It grew an estimated 19.5 percent. It deviated from ideal size by a large 12.1 percent.

When it’s time to examine districts in 2020, North Carolina will likely have grown even more than population totals in 2015. Rowan could top 150,000 residents. The rural, eastern portion of Cabarrus County could see small communities spring into small towns.

No one knows what the exact boundaries of U.S. House and state legislature districts will be in 2020, but if metropolitan growth in North Carolina continues, it’s probable Rowan residents could see a shift in representation.

Reporter Josh Bergeron covers county government, politics and the environment for the Salisbury Post.