1920 United States Census

Fourteenth Census
of the United States

U.S. Census Bureau Seal

Population Schedule
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

Data availability

The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s; after which the original sheets were destroyed.[2] (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. ↑ Algonquin Area Public Library District. "Census Secrets" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2012.

External links

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