Contents

1940 United States census

Sixteenth census of the United States
← 1930 April 1, 1940 (1940-04-01) 1950 →
U.S. Census Bureau seal
Population schedule
General information
Country	United States
Results
Total population	132,164,569 ( 7.6%)
Most populous ​state	New York 13,479,142
Least populous ​state	Nevada 110,247

The 1940 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.6 percent over the 1930 population of 122,775,046 people. The census date of record was April 1, 1940.

A number of new questions were asked including where people were five years before, highest educational grade achieved, and information about wages. This census introduced sampling techniques; one in 20 people were asked additional questions on the census form. Other innovations included a field test of the census in 1939. This was the first census in which every state (48) had a population greater than 100,000.

Census questions[edit]

The 1940 census collected the following information:^[1]

In addition, a sample of individuals were asked additional questions covering age at first marriage, fertility, and other topics. Full documentation on the 1940 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability[edit]

Following completion of the census, the original enumeration sheets were microfilmed; after which the original sheets were destroyed.^[2]

As required by Title 13 of the U.S. Code, access to personally identifiable information from census records was restricted for 72 years.^[3] Non-personally identifiable information Microdata from the 1940 census is freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Also, aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

On April 2, 2012^[4]—72 years after the census was taken—microfilmed images of the 1940 census enumeration sheets were released to the public by the National Archives and Records Administration.^[5][6] The records are indexed only by enumeration district upon initial release; several organizations are compiling indices, in some cases through crowdsourcing.^[7]

State rankings[edit]

Rank	State	Population as of 1940 census[8]	Population as of 1930 census	Change	Percent change
1	New York	13,479,142	12,588,066	891,076	7.1%
2	Pennsylvania	9,900,180	9,631,350	268,830	2.8%
3	Illinois	7,897,241	7,630,654	266,587	3.5%
4	Ohio	6,907,612	6,646,697	260,915	3.9%
5	California	6,907,387	5,677,251	1,230,136	21.7%
6	Texas	6,414,824	5,824,715	590,109	10.1%
7	Michigan	5,256,106	4,842,325	413,781	8.5%
8	Massachusetts	4,316,721	4,249,614	67,107	1.6%
9	New Jersey	4,160,165	4,041,334	118,831	2.9%
10	Missouri	3,784,664	3,629,367	155,297	4.3%
11	North Carolina	3,571,623	3,170,276	401,347	12.7%
12	Indiana	3,427,796	3,238,503	189,293	5.8%
13	Wisconsin	3,137,587	2,939,006	198,581	6.8%
14	Georgia	3,123,723	2,908,506	215,217	7.4%
15	Tennessee	2,915,841	2,616,556	299,285	11.4%
16	Kentucky	2,845,627	2,614,589	231,038	8.8%
17	Alabama	2,832,961	2,646,248	186,713	7.1%
18	Minnesota	2,792,300	2,563,953	228,347	8.9%
19	Virginia	2,677,773	2,421,851	255,922	10.6%
20	Iowa	2,538,268	2,470,939	67,329	2.7%
21	Louisiana	2,363,516	2,101,593	261,923	12.5%
22	Oklahoma	2,336,434	2,396,040	−59,606	−2.5%
23	Mississippi	2,183,796	2,009,821	173,975	8.7%
24	Arkansas	1,949,387	1,854,482	94,905	5.1%
25	West Virginia	1,901,974	1,729,205	172,769	10.0%
26	South Carolina	1,899,804	1,738,765	161,039	9.3%
27	Florida	1,897,414	1,468,211	429,203	29.2%
28	Maryland	1,821,244	1,631,526	189,718	11.6%
29	Kansas	1,801,028	1,880,999	−79,971	−4.3%
30	Washington	1,736,191	1,563,396	172,795	11.1%
31	Connecticut	1,709,242	1,606,903	102,339	6.4%
32	Nebraska	1,315,834	1,377,963	−62,129	−4.5%
33	Colorado	1,123,296	1,035,791	87,505	8.4%
34	Oregon	1,089,684	953,786	135,898	14.2%
35	Maine	847,226	797,423	49,803	6.2%
36	Rhode Island	713,346	687,497	25,849	3.8%
—	District of Columbia	663,091	486,869	176,222	36.2%
37	South Dakota	642,961	692,849	−49,888	−7.2%
38	North Dakota	641,935	680,845	−38,910	−5.7%
39	Montana	559,456	537,606	21,850	4.1%
40	Utah	550,310	507,847	42,463	8.4%
41	New Mexico	531,818	423,317	108,501	25.6%
42	Idaho	524,873	445,032	79,841	17.9%
43	Arizona	499,261	435,573	63,688	14.6%
44	New Hampshire	491,524	465,293	26,231	5.6%
—	Hawaii	422,770	368,300	54,470	14.8%
45	Vermont	359,231	359,611	−380	−0.1%
46	Delaware	266,505	238,380	28,125	11.8%
47	Wyoming	250,742	225,565	25,177	11.2%
48	Nevada	110,247	91,058	19,189	21.1%
—	Alaska	72,524	59,278	13,246	22.3%
—	United States	132,165,129	123,202,660	8,962,469	7.3%

City rankings[edit]

Locations of 50 most populous cities[edit]

New York

Use for Japanese American internment[edit]

During World War II, the Census Bureau responded to numerous information requests from US government agencies, including the US Army and the US Secret Service, to facilitate the internment of Japanese Americans. In his report of the operation, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt wrote that "The most important single source of information prior to the evacuation was the 1940 Census of Population."^[11][12][13]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1940 United States Census.

• Official 1940 census website
• 1940 Census Records from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
• 1940 Federal Population Census Videos, training videos for enumerators at the U.S. National Archives
• Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts from the U.S. Census Bureau
• Snow, Michael S. (opinion) "Why the huge interest in the 1940 Census?" CNN. Monday April 9, 2012.
• 1941 U.S Census Report Contains 1940 census results
• 1940 Census Questions Hosted at CensusFinder.com.