1920 United States Census

Fourteenth Census
of the United States

U.S. Census Bureau Seal
General information
Country United States
Date taken January 5, 1920
Total population 106,021,537
Percent change Increase 15.0%
Most populous state New York
10,385,227
Least populous state Nevada
77,407

The Fourteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated during the 1910 Census.

Despite the constitutional requirement that House seats be reapportioned to the states respective of their population every ten years according to the census, members of Congress failed to agree on a reapportionment plan following this census, and the distribution of seats from the 1910 census remained in effect until 1933. In 1929, Congress passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 which provided for a permanent method of reapportionment and fixed the number of Representatives at 435.

Census questions

The 1920 census collected the following information:[1]

  • address
  • name
  • relationship to head of family
  • sex
  • race
  • age
  • marital status
  • if foreign born, year of immigration to the U.S., whether naturalized and, if so, year of naturalization
  • school attendance
  • literacy
  • birthplace of person and parents
  • if foreign-born, the mother tongue
  • ability to speak English
  • occupation, industry, and class of worker migratory
  • whether home owned or rented, and, if owned, whether free or mortgaged

Full documentation for the 1920 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

State rankings

Rank State Population
1 New York 10,385,227
2 Pennsylvania 8,720,017
3 Illinois 6,485,280
4 Ohio 5,759,394
5 Texas 4,663,228
6 Massachusetts 3,852,356
7 Michigan 3,668,412
8 California 3,426,861
9 Missouri 3,404,055
10 New Jersey 3,155,900
11 Indiana 2,930,390
12 Georgia 2,895,832
13 Wisconsin 2,632,067
14 North Carolina 2,559,123
15 Kentucky 2,416,630
16 Iowa 2,404,021
17 Minnesota 2,387,125
18 Alabama 2,348,174
19 Tennessee 2,337,885
20 Virginia 2,309,187
21 Oklahoma 2,028,283
22 Louisiana 1,798,509
23 Mississippi 1,790,618
24 Kansas 1,769,257
25 Arkansas 1,752,204
26 South Carolina 1,683,724
27 West Virginia 1,463,701
28 Maryland 1,449,661
29 Connecticut 1,380,631
30 Washington 1,356,621
31 Nebraska 1,296,372
32 Florida 968,470
33 Colorado 939,629
34 Oregon 783,389
35 Maine 768,014
36 North Dakota 646,872
37 South Dakota 636,547
38 Rhode Island 604,397
39 Montana 548,889
40 Utah 449,396
41 New Hampshire 443,083
x District of Columbia
42 Idaho 431,866
43 New Mexico 360,350
44 Vermont 352,428
45 Arizona 334,162
46 Delaware 223,003
47 Wyoming 194,402
48 Nevada 77,407

Territories

United States Territories
Year of conquest or purchase Territory Population
1867 Alaska 55,036
1898 Hawaii 255,881
1898 Puerto Rico 1,299,809
1898 Guam 13,275
1898 Philippine Islands 10,314,310
1899 American Samoa N/A
1903 Panama Canal Zone N/A
1915 Haiti N/A
1916 Santo Domingo 894,652
1916 US Virgin Islands N/A

City rankings

Rank City State Population[2] Region (2016)[3]
01 New York New York 5,620,048 Northeast
02 Chicago Illinois 2,701,705 Midwest
03 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1,823,779 Northeast
04 Detroit Michigan 993,078 Midwest
05 Cleveland Ohio 796,841 Midwest
06 St. Louis Missouri 772,897 Midwest
07 Boston Massachusetts 748,060 Northeast
08 Baltimore Maryland 733,826 South
09 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 588,343 Northeast
10 Los Angeles California 576,673 West
11 Buffalo New York 506,775 Northeast
12 San Francisco California 506,676 West
13 Milwaukee Wisconsin 457,147 Midwest
14 Washington District of Columbia 437,571 South
15 Newark New Jersey 414,524 Northeast
16 Cincinnati Ohio 401,247 Midwest
17 New Orleans Louisiana 387,219 South
18 Minneapolis Minnesota 380,582 Midwest
19 Kansas City Missouri 324,410 Midwest
20 Seattle Washington 315,312 West
21 Indianapolis Indiana 314,194 Midwest
22 Jersey City New Jersey 298,103 Northeast
23 Rochester New York 295,750 Northeast
24 Portland Oregon 258,288 West
25 Denver Colorado 256,491 West
26 Toledo Ohio 243,164 Midwest
27 Providence Rhode Island 237,595 Northeast
28 Columbus Ohio 237,031 Midwest
29 Louisville Kentucky 234,891 South
30 Saint Paul Minnesota 234,698 Midwest
31 Oakland California 216,261 West
32 Akron Ohio 208,435 Midwest
33 Atlanta Georgia 200,616 South
34 Omaha Nebraska 191,601 Midwest
35 Worcester Massachusetts 179,754 Northeast
36 Birmingham Alabama 178,806 South
37 Syracuse New York 171,717 Northeast
38 Richmond Virginia 171,667 South
39 New Haven Connecticut 162,537 Northeast
40 Memphis Tennessee 162,351 South
41 San Antonio Texas 161,379 South
42 Dallas Texas 158,976 South
43 Dayton Ohio 152,559 Midwest
44 Bridgeport Connecticut 143,555 Northeast
45 Houston Texas 138,276 South
46 Hartford Connecticut 138,036 Northeast
47 Scranton Pennsylvania 137,783 Northeast
48 Grand Rapids Michigan 137,634 Midwest
49 Paterson New Jersey 135,875 Northeast
50 Youngstown Ohio 132,358 Midwest
51 Springfield Massachusetts 129,614 Northeast
52 Des Moines Iowa 126,468 Midwest
53 New Bedford Massachusetts 121,217 Northeast
54 Fall River Massachusetts 120,485 Northeast
55 Trenton New Jersey 119,289 Northeast
56 Nashville Tennessee 118,342 South
57 Salt Lake City Utah 118,110 West
58 Camden New Jersey 116,309 Northeast
59 Norfolk Virginia 115,777 South
60 Albany New York 113,344 Northeast
61 Lowell Massachusetts 112,759 Northeast
62 Wilmington Delaware 110,168 South
63 Cambridge Massachusetts 109,694 Northeast
64 Reading Pennsylvania 107,784 Northeast
65 Fort Worth Texas 106,482 South
66 Spokane Washington 104,437 West
67 Kansas City Kansas 101,177 Midwest
68 Yonkers New York 100,176 Northeast
69 Lynn Massachusetts 99,148 Northeast
70 Duluth Minnesota 98,917 Midwest
71 Tacoma Washington 96,965 West
72 Elizabeth New Jersey 95,783 Northeast
73 Lawrence Massachusetts 94,270 Northeast
74 Utica New York 94,156 Northeast
75 Erie Pennsylvania 93,372 Northeast
76 Somerville Massachusetts 93,091 Northeast
77 Waterbury Connecticut 91,715 Northeast
78 Flint Michigan 91,599 Midwest
79 Jacksonville Florida 91,558 South
80 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 91,295 South
81 Schenectady New York 88,723 Northeast
82 Canton Ohio 87,091 Midwest
83 Fort Wayne Indiana 86,549 Midwest
84 Evansville Indiana 85,264 Midwest
85 Savannah Georgia 83,252 South
86 Manchester New Hampshire 78,384 Northeast
87 St. Joseph Missouri 77,939 Midwest
88 Knoxville Tennessee 77,818 South
89 El Paso Texas 77,560 South
90 Bayonne New Jersey 76,754 Northeast
91 Peoria Illinois 76,121 Midwest
92 Harrisburg Pennsylvania 75,917 Northeast
93 San Diego California 74,683 West
94 Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania 73,833 Northeast
95 Allentown Pennsylvania 73,502 Northeast
96 Wichita Kansas 72,217 Midwest
97 Tulsa Oklahoma 72,075 South
98 Troy New York 71,996 Northeast
99 Sioux City Iowa 71,227 Midwest
100 South Bend Indiana 70,983 Midwest

Data availability

The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s; after which the original sheets were destroyed.[4] (dead link). The microfilmed census is available in rolls from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations also host images of the microfilmed census online, and digital indices.

Microdata from the 1920 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

Notes

  1. "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790-1925". New York State Library. October 1981. pp. 45 (p. 51 of PDF). Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  2. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  3. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  4. Algonquin Area Public Library District. "Census Secrets" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2012.

External links

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