Seventeenth census
of the United States
April 1, 1950
U.S. Census Bureau seal
1950 U.S. census logo
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population158,804,396 (Increase 14.5%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
15,830,192
Least populous ​stateNevada
160,083

The 1950 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 158,804,396, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census.[1]

This was the first census in which:

  • More than one state recorded a population of over 10 million
  • Every state and territory recorded a population of over 100,000
  • All 100 largest cities recorded populations of over 100,000

On April 1, 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration released scanned census enumeration sheets to the general public, in accordance with the 72 year rule.[2]

Census questions

The 1950 census collected the following information from all respondents:[3]

  • address
  • whether house is on a farm
  • name
  • relationship to head of household
  • race
  • sex
  • age
  • marital status
  • birthplace
  • if foreign born, whether naturalized
  • employment status
  • hours worked in week
  • occupation, industry and class of worker

In addition, a sample of individuals were asked additional questions covering income, marital history, fertility, and other topics. Full documentation on the 1950 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability

A clerk creating punch cards containing data from the census.

Microdata from the 1950 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. Personally identifiable information became available in April 2022.[4]

On April 1, 2022, 72 years after the census was taken, the National Archives and Records Administration released scanned census enumeration sheets to the general public.[2] Soon after, census data will also be made freely searchable by name at other websites.[5]

State rankings

A map showing the population change of each US State by percentage.


Rank State Population as of
1950 census		 Population as of
1940 census		 Change Percent
change
1  New York 14,830,192 13,479,142 1,351,050 Increase 10.0% Increase
2  California 10,586,223 6,907,387 3,678,836 Increase 53.3% Increase
3  Pennsylvania 10,498,012 9,900,180 597,832 Increase 6.0% Increase
4  Illinois 8,712,176 7,897,241 814,935 Increase 10.3% Increase
5  Ohio 7,946,627 6,907,612 1,039,015 Increase 15.0% Increase
6  Texas 7,711,194 6,414,824 1,296,370 Increase 20.2% Increase
7  Michigan 6,371,766 5,256,106 1,115,660 Increase 21.2% Increase
8  New Jersey 4,835,329 4,160,165 675,164 Increase 16.2% Increase
9  Massachusetts 4,690,514 4,316,721 373,793 Increase 8.7% Increase
10  North Carolina 4,061,929 3,571,623 490,306 Increase 13.7% Increase
11  Missouri 3,954,653 3,784,664 169,989 Increase 4.5% Increase
12  Indiana 3,934,224 3,427,796 506,428 Increase 14.8% Increase
13  Georgia 3,444,578 3,123,723 320,855 Increase 10.3% Increase
14  Wisconsin 3,434,575 3,137,587 296,988 Increase 9.5% Increase
15  Virginia 3,318,680 2,677,773 640,907 Increase 23.9% Increase
16  Tennessee 3,291,718 2,915,841 375,877 Increase 12.9% Increase
17  Alabama 3,061,743 2,832,961 228,782 Increase 8.1% Increase
18  Minnesota 2,982,483 2,792,300 190,183 Increase 6.8% Increase
19  Kentucky 2,944,806 2,845,627 99,179 Increase 3.5% Increase
20  Florida 2,771,305 1,897,414 873,891 Increase 46.1% Increase
21  Louisiana 2,683,516 2,363,516 320,000 Increase 13.5% Increase
22  Iowa 2,621,073 2,538,268 82,805 Increase 3.3% Increase
23  Washington 2,378,963 1,736,191 642,772 Increase 37.0% Increase
24  Maryland 2,343,001 1,821,244 521,757 Increase 28.6% Increase
25  Oklahoma 2,233,351 2,336,434 −103,083 Decrease −4.4% Decrease
26  Mississippi 2,178,914 2,183,796 −4,882 Decrease −0.2% Decrease
27  South Carolina 2,117,027 1,899,804 217,223 Increase 11.4% Increase
28  Connecticut 2,007,280 1,709,242 298,038 Increase 17.4% Increase
29  West Virginia 2,005,552 1,901,974 103,578 Increase 5.4% Increase
30  Arkansas 1,909,511 1,949,387 −39,876 Decrease −2.0% Decrease
31  Kansas 1,905,299 1,801,028 104,271 Increase 5.8% Increase
32  Oregon 1,521,341 1,089,684 431,657 Increase 39.6% Increase
33  Nebraska 1,325,510 1,315,834 9,676 Increase 0.7% Increase
34  Colorado 1,325,089 1,123,296 201,793 Increase 18.0% Increase
35  Maine 913,774 847,226 66,548 Increase 7.9% Increase
—  District of Columbia 802,178 663,091 139,087 Increase 21.0% Increase
36  Rhode Island 791,896 713,346 78,550 Increase 11.0% Increase
37  Arizona 749,587 499,261 250,326 Increase 50.1% Increase
38  Utah 688,862 550,310 138,552 Increase 25.2% Increase
39  New Mexico 681,187 531,818 149,369 Increase 28.1% Increase
40  South Dakota 652,740 642,961 9,779 Increase 1.5% Increase
41  North Dakota 619,636 641,935 −22,299 Decrease −3.5% Decrease
42  Montana 591,024 559,456 31,568 Increase 5.6% Increase
43  Idaho 588,637 524,873 63,764 Increase 12.1% Increase
44  New Hampshire 533,242 491,524 41,718 Increase 8.5% Increase
—  Hawaii 499,794 422,770 77,024 Increase 18.2% Increase
45  Vermont 377,747 359,231 18,516 Increase 5.2% Increase
46  Delaware 318,085 266,505 51,580 Increase 19.4% Increase
47  Wyoming 290,529 250,742 39,787 Increase 15.9% Increase
48  Nevada 160,083 110,247 49,836 Increase 45.2% Increase
—  Alaska 128,643 72,524 56,119 Increase 77.4% Increase
—  United States 151,325,798 132,164,569 19,161,229 Increase 14.5% Increase

City rankings

RankCityStatePopulation[6]Region (2016)[7]
01New YorkNew York7,891,957Northeast
02ChicagoIllinois3,620,962Midwest
03PhiladelphiaPennsylvania2,071,605Northeast
04Los AngelesCalifornia1,970,358West
05DetroitMichigan1,849,568Midwest
06BaltimoreMaryland949,708South
07ClevelandOhio914,808Midwest
08St. LouisMissouri856,796Midwest
09WashingtonDistrict of Columbia802,178South
10BostonMassachusetts801,444Northeast
11San FranciscoCalifornia775,357West
12PittsburghPennsylvania676,806Northeast
13MilwaukeeWisconsin637,392Midwest
14HoustonTexas596,163South
15BuffaloNew York580,132Northeast
16New OrleansLouisiana570,445South
17MinneapolisMinnesota521,718Midwest
18CincinnatiOhio503,998Midwest
19SeattleWashington467,591West
20Kansas CityMissouri456,622Midwest
21NewarkNew Jersey438,776Northeast
22DallasTexas434,462South
23IndianapolisIndiana427,173Midwest
24DenverColorado415,786West
25San AntonioTexas408,442South
26MemphisTennessee396,000South
27OaklandCalifornia384,575West
28ColumbusOhio375,901Midwest
29PortlandOregon373,628West
30LouisvilleKentucky369,129South
31San DiegoCalifornia334,387West
32RochesterNew York332,488Northeast
33AtlantaGeorgia331,314South
34BirminghamAlabama326,037South
35Saint PaulMinnesota311,349Midwest
36ToledoOhio303,616Midwest
37Jersey CityNew Jersey299,017Northeast
38Fort WorthTexas278,778South
39AkronOhio274,605Midwest
40OmahaNebraska251,117Midwest
41Long BeachCalifornia250,767West
42MiamiFlorida249,276South
43ProvidenceRhode Island248,674Northeast
44DaytonOhio243,872Midwest
45Oklahoma CityOklahoma243,504South
46RichmondVirginia230,310South
47SyracuseNew York220,583Northeast
48NorfolkVirginia213,513South
49JacksonvilleFlorida204,517South
50WorcesterMassachusetts203,486Northeast
51TulsaOklahoma182,740South
52Salt Lake CityUtah182,121West
53Des MoinesIowa177,965Midwest
54HartfordConnecticut177,397Northeast
55Grand RapidsMichigan176,515Midwest
56NashvilleTennessee174,307South
57YoungstownOhio168,330Midwest
58WichitaKansas168,279Midwest
59New HavenConnecticut164,443Northeast
60FlintMichigan163,143Midwest
61SpringfieldMassachusetts162,399Northeast
62SpokaneWashington161,721West
63BridgeportConnecticut158,709Northeast
64YonkersNew York152,798Northeast
65TacomaWashington143,673West
66PatersonNew Jersey139,336Northeast
67SacramentoCalifornia137,572West
68ArlingtonVirginia135,449South
69AlbanyNew York134,995Northeast
70CharlotteNorth Carolina134,042South
71GaryIndiana133,911Midwest
72Fort WayneIndiana133,607Midwest
73AustinTexas132,459South
74ChattanoogaTennessee131,041South
75EriePennsylvania130,803Northeast
76El PasoTexas130,485South
77Kansas CityKansas129,553Midwest
78MobileAlabama129,009South
79EvansvilleIndiana128,636Midwest
80TrentonNew Jersey128,009Northeast
81ShreveportLouisiana127,206South
82Baton RougeLouisiana125,629South
83ScrantonPennsylvania125,536Northeast
84KnoxvilleTennessee124,769South
85TampaFlorida124,681South
86CamdenNew Jersey124,555Northeast
87CambridgeMassachusetts120,740Northeast
88SavannahGeorgia119,638South
89CantonOhio116,912Midwest
90South BendIndiana115,911Midwest
91BerkeleyCalifornia113,805West
92ElizabethNew Jersey112,817Northeast
93Fall RiverMassachusetts111,963Northeast
94PeoriaIllinois111,856Midwest
95WilmingtonDelaware110,356South
96ReadingPennsylvania109,320Northeast
97New BedfordMassachusetts109,189Northeast
98Corpus ChristiTexas108,287South
99PhoenixArizona106,818West
100AllentownPennsylvania106,756Northeast

Locations of 50 most populous cities

Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1950

References

  1. ↑ "Population and Area (Historical Censuses)" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "1950 Census on Track for 2022 Release, Despite Pandemic". National Archives and Records Administration. April 30, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. p. 45. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  4. ↑ "The "72-Year Rule" – History". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Free 1950 Census Search". Historic Journals LLC. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  6. ↑ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, United States Census Bureau, 1998
  7. ↑ "Regions and Divisions". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
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