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1920 United States census

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Fourteenth census
of the United States
← 1910 January 5, 1920 1930 →
U.S. Census Bureau seal
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population106,021,537 (Increase 15.0%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
10,385,227
Least populous ​stateNevada
77,407

The 1920 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau during 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.

This was the first census in which the United States recorded a population of more than 100 million. It was also the first census in which a state—New York—recorded a population of more than ten million.

This census also marked a significant population shift from rural to urban. According to the Census Bureau, "Beginning in 1910, the minimum population threshold to be categorized as an urban place was set at 2,500. "Urban" was defined as including all territory, persons, and housing units within an incorporated area that met the population threshold. The 1920 census marked the first time in which over 50 percent of the U.S. population was defined as "urban."[1]

Census questions

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The 1920 census collected the following information:[2]

  • Age
  • Single
  • If foreign born, year of immigration to the U.S., whether naturalized and, if so, year of naturalization
  • School attendance
  • Literacy
  • State of residence
  • If foreign-born, the mother tongue
  • Ability to speak English
  • Occupation, industry, and class of worker
  • 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

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Rank State Population as of
1920 census 		Population as of
1910 census 		Change Percent
change
1  New York 10,385,227 9,113,614 1,271,613 Increase 14.0% Increase
2  Pennsylvania 8,720,017 7,665,111 1,054,906 Increase 13.8% Increase
3  Illinois 6,485,280 5,638,591 846,689 Increase 15.0% Increase
4  Ohio 5,759,394 4,767,121 992,273 Increase 20.8% Increase
5  Texas 4,663,228 3,896,542 766,686 Increase 19.7% Increase
6  Massachusetts 3,852,356 3,366,416 485,940 Increase 14.4% Increase
7  Michigan 3,668,412 2,810,173 858,239 Increase 30.5% Increase
8  California 3,426,865 2,377,549 1,049,312 Increase 44.1% Increase
9  Missouri 3,404,055 3,293,335 110,720 Increase 3.4% Increase
10  New Jersey 3,155,900 2,537,167 618,733 Increase 24.4% Increase
11  Indiana 2,930,390 2,700,876 229,514 Increase 8.5% Increase
12  Georgia 2,895,832 2,609,121 286,711 Increase 11.0% Increase
13  Wisconsin 2,632,067 2,333,860 298,207 Increase 12.8% Increase
14  North Carolina 2,559,123 2,206,287 352,836 Increase 16.0% Increase
15  Kentucky 2,416,630 2,289,905 126,725 Increase 5.5% Increase
16  Iowa 2,404,021 2,224,771 179,250 Increase 8.1% Increase
17  Minnesota 2,387,125 2,075,708 311,417 Increase 15.0% Increase
18  Alabama 2,348,174 2,138,093 210,081 Increase 9.8% Increase
19  Tennessee 2,337,885 2,184,789 153,096 Increase 7.0% Increase
20  Virginia 2,309,187 2,061,612 247,575 Increase 12.0% Increase
21  Oklahoma 2,028,283 1,657,155 371,128 Increase 22.4% Increase
22  Louisiana 1,798,509 1,656,388 142,121 Increase 8.6% Increase
23  Mississippi 1,790,618 1,797,114 -6,496 Decrease -0.4% Decrease
24  Kansas 1,769,257 1,690,949 78,308 Increase 4.6% Increase
25  Arkansas 1,752,204 1,574,449 177,755 Increase 11.3% Increase
26  South Carolina 1,683,724 1,515,400 168,324 Increase 11.1% Increase
27  West Virginia 1,463,701 1,221,119 242,582 Increase 19.9% Increase
28  Maryland 1,449,661 1,295,346 154,315 Increase 11.9% Increase
29  Connecticut 1,380,631 1,114,756 265,875 Increase 23.9% Increase
30  Washington 1,356,621 1,141,990 214,631 Increase 18.8% Increase
31  Nebraska 1,296,372 1,192,214 104,158 Increase 8.7% Increase
32  Florida 968,470 752,619 215,851 Increase 28.7% Increase
33  Colorado 939,629 799,024 140,605 Increase 17.6% Increase
34  Oregon 783,389 672,765 110,624 Increase 16.4% Increase
35  Maine 768,014 742,371 25,643 Increase 3.5% Increase
36  North Dakota 646,872 577,056 69,816 Increase 12.1% Increase
37  South Dakota 636,547 583,888 52,659 Increase 9.0% Increase
38  Rhode Island 604,397 542,610 61,787 Increase 11.4% Increase
39  Montana 548,889 376,053 172,836 Increase 46.0% Increase
40  Utah 449,396 373,351 76,045 Increase 20.4% Increase
41  New Hampshire 443,083 430,572 12,511 Increase 2.9% Increase
-  District of Columbia 437,571 331,069 106,502 Increase 32.2% Increase
42  Idaho 431,866 325,594 106,272 Increase 32.6% Increase
43  New Mexico 360,350 327,301 33,049 Increase 10.1% Increase
44  Vermont 352,428 355,956 -3,528 Decrease -1.0% Decrease
45  Arizona 334,162 204,354 129,808 Increase 63.5% Increase
-  Hawaii 255,881 191,874 64,007 Increase 33.4% Increase
46  Delaware 223,003 202,322 20,681 Increase 10.2% Increase
47  Wyoming 194,402 145,965 48,437 Increase 33.2% Increase
48  Nevada 77,407 81,875 -4,468 Decrease -5.5% Decrease
-  Alaska 55,036 64,356 -9,320 Decrease 14.5% Decrease

Territories

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United States Territories
Year of conquest or purchase Territory Population
1867 Alaska 64,356
1898 Hawaii 255,881
1898 Puerto Rico 1,299,809
1898 Guam 13,275
1898 Philippine Islands 10,314,310
1899 American Samoa —
1903 Panama Canal Zone —
1915 Haiti —
1916 Santo Domingo 894,652
1916 US Virgin Islands —

City rankings

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Rank City State Population[3] Region (2016)[4]
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

Locations of 50 most populous cities

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class=notpageimage|
Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1920. Not shown: Manila, Philippines.
Numbered Cities
1. Bridgeport, Connecticut
2. Paterson, New Jersey

Data availability

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The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s, after which the original sheets were destroyed.[5] 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

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  1. ^ "History: Urban and Rural". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  4. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  5. ^ Algonquin Area Public Library District. "Census Secrets" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
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