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( T o p )
1 C o n t e m p o r a r y p e r c e p t i o n
2 Q u e s t i o n s
3 L o s s a n d a v a i l a b i l i t y o f d a t a
4 D a t a
5 C i t y r a n k i n g s
6 R e f e r e n c e s
7 E x t e r n a l l i n k s
T o g g l e t h e t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s
1 7 9 0 U n i t e d S t a t e s c e n s u s
1 9 l a n g u a g e s
● ا ل ع ر ب ي ة ● D e u t s c h ● E s p a ñ o l ● F r a n ç a i s ● 한 국 어 ● B a h a s a I n d o n e s i a ● I t a l i a n o ● L i e t u v i ų ● P o r t u g u ê s ● R o m â n ă ● Р у с с к и й ● S i m p l e E n g l i s h ● S u o m i ● S v e n s k a ● У к р а ї н с ь к а ● ا ر د و ● V è n e t o ● 粵 語 ● 中 文
E d i t l i n k s
● A r t i c l e ● T a l k
E n g l i s h
● R e a d ● E d i t ● V i e w h i s t o r y
T o o l s
T o o l s
A c t i o n s
● R e a d ● E d i t ● V i e w h i s t o r y
G e n e r a l
● W h a t l i n k s h e r e ● R e l a t e d c h a n g e s ● U p l o a d f i l e ● S p e c i a l p a g e s ● P e r m a n e n t l i n k ● P a g e i n f o r m a t i o n ● C i t e t h i s p a g e ● G e t s h o r t e n e d U R L ● D o w n l o a d Q R c o d e ● W i k i d a t a i t e m
P r i n t / e x p o r t
● D o w n l o a d a s P D F ● P r i n t a b l e v e r s i o n
I n o t h e r p r o j e c t s
● W i k i m e d i a C o m m o n s ● W i k i s o u r c e
A p p e a r a n c e
F r o m W i k i p e d i a , t h e f r e e e n c y c l o p e d i a
( R e d i r e c t e d f r o m U . S . C e n s u s , 1 7 9 0 )
The 1790 United States census was the first United States census . It recorded the population of the whole United States as of Census Day, August 2, 1790, as mandated by Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution and applicable laws. In the first census, the population of the United States was enumerated to be 3,929,214 inhabitants.[1] [2]
Congress assigned responsibility for the 1790 census to the marshals of United States judicial districts under an act, which with minor modifications and extensions, governed census taking through the 1840 census. "The law required that every household be visited, that completed census schedules be posted in 'two of the most public places within [each jurisdiction], there to remain for the inspection of all concerned...' and that 'the aggregate amount of each description of persons' for every district be transmitted to the president ."[3]
Contemporary perception [ edit ]
Both Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and President George Washington expressed skepticism[4] [5]
Questions [ edit ]
Column
Title[2]
1 Name of the head of family
2 Number of free white males age 16 and over
3 Number of free white males under age 16
4 Number of free white females
5 Number of all other free persons
6 Number of slaves
Loss and availability of data [ edit ]
Although the census was proved statistically factual, based on data collected, the records for several states (including Delaware , Georgia , New Jersey , and Virginia ) were lost sometime between 1790 and 1830.[6] Connecticut , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , New York , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , and Vermont ; the validity and existence of most of these data, though, can be confirmed in many secondary sources pertaining to the first census.[7]
No microdata from the 1790 population census are available, but aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System .[8]
Under the direction of the Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson , marshals collected data from all thirteen states (Connecticut , Delaware , Georgia , Maryland , Massachusetts including the District of Maine , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , and Virginia ), and from the Southwest Territory .[3] Vermont until 1791, after that state's admission to the Union as the 14th state on March 4 of that year. (From 1777 until early 1791, and hence during all of 1790, Vermont was a de facto independent country whose government took the position that Vermont was not then a part of the United States.)
At 17.8 percent, the 1790 census's proportion of slaves to the free population was the highest ever recorded by any census of the United States.[9]
State or territory
Free white males of 16 years and upward[a]
Free white males under 16 years
Free white females[a]
All other free persons
Slaves
Slaves % of state population
Total
% of U.S. population
Vermont [10] [11] 22,435
22,328
40,505
255
16 [b] [12] [13] 0.0%
85,539[c]
2.2%
New Hampshire [14] [11] 36,086
34,851
70,160
630
158
0.1%
141,885
3.6%
Maine [15] [11] 24,384
24,748
46,870
538
0
0.0%
96,540
2.4%
Massachusetts [16] [11] 95,453
87,289
190,582
5,463
0
0.0%
378,787
9.8%
Rhode Island [17] [11] 16,019
15,799
32,652
3,407
948
1.4%
68,825
1.7%
Connecticut [18] [11] 60,523
54,403
117,448
2,808
2,764
1.2%
237,946
6.0%
New York [19] [20] [11] 83,700
78,122
152,320
4,654
21,324
6.3%
340,120
8.6%
New Jersey [11] 45,251
41,416
83,287
2,762
11,423
6.2%
184,139
4.6%
Pennsylvania [21] [11] 110,788
106,948
206,363
6,537
3,737
0.9%
434,373
11.0%
Delaware [11] 11,783
12,143
22,384
3,899
8,887
15.0%
59,094[d]
1.5%
Maryland [22] [11] 55,915
51,339
101,395
8,043
103,036
32.2%
319,728
8.1%
Virginia [23] [11] 110,936
116,135
215,046
12,866
292,627
39.1%
747,610[e] [24] [11]
18.9%
Kentucky [11] 15,154
17,057
28,922
114
12,430
16.9%
73,677
1.9%
North Carolina [25] [11] 69,988
77,506
140,710
4,975
100,572
25.5%
393,751
9.9%
South Carolina [11] 35,576
37,722
66,880
1,801
107,094
43.0%
249,073
6.3%
Georgia [11] 13,103
14,044
25,739
398
29,264
35.5%
82,548
2.1%
Southwest Territory [11] 6,271
10,277
15,365
361
3,417
9.6%
35,691
0.9%
Total
813,365
802,127
1,556,628
59,511
697,697
17.8%
3,929,326
100%
^ a b Heads of families were included.
^ 0 is the correct figure, and the 16 here should be added to the "All other free persons" column. When the census of 1790 was published in 1791, it reported 16 slaves, which were illegal in Vermont. Subsequently, and up to 1860, the number is given as 17. An examination of the original manuscript by the Census Bureau superintendent found that there never were any slaves in Vermont. The original error occurred in preparing the results for publication, when 16 persons, returned as "Free colored," were classified as "Slave" in Bennington County. See the history of slavery in Vermont .
^ Corrected figures are 85,425, or 114 less than figures published in 1790, due to an error of addition of several towns.
^ Corrected figures are 59,096, or 2 more than figures published in 1790, due to error in addition.
^ The figures for Virginia do not include the population of Kentucky. Though Kentucky was then a part of Virginia, the Kentucky figures were compiled separately, and are shown on the line for Kentucky. The Virginia figures do include the portion of Virginia that later became the state of West Virginia.
City rankings [ edit ]
Commemorative pitcher with census results
Rank
City
State
Population[26] [27]
Region (2016) [28] Population (2020)
1 New York New York 33,131
Northeast 1,694,251 [Manhattan only]
2 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 28,522
Northeast 69,433 [Center City only]
3 Boston Massachusetts 18,320
Northeast 675,647
4 Charleston South Carolina 16,359
South 150,227
5 Baltimore Maryland 13,503
South 585,708
6 Norwalk Connecticut 11,942
Northeast 91,184
7 Northern Liberties Pennsylvania 9,913
Northeast —
8 Rensselaerswyck New York 8,318
Northeast —
9 Salem Massachusetts 7,921
Northeast 44,480
10 Watervliet New York 7,419
Northeast 10,375
11 Ballston New York 7,333
Northeast 11,831
12 Stephentown New York 6,795
Northeast 2,888 (2016)
13 Newport Rhode Island 6,716
Northeast 25,163
14 Canaan New York 6,692
Northeast 1,570
15 Providence Rhode Island 6,380
Northeast 190,934
16 Canajoharie New York 6,156
Northeast 3,613 (2016)
17 Fishkill New York 5,941
Northeast 24,226
18 Frederickstown New York 5,932
Northeast 11,541
19 Marblehead Massachusetts 5,661
Northeast 20,441
19 Southwark Pennsylvania 5,661
Northeast —
21 Middletown Connecticut 5,375
Northeast 47,717
22 Gloucester Massachusetts 5,317
Northeast 29,729
23 Amwell New Jersey 5,201
Northeast —
24 Washington New York 5,189
Northeast 4,522
25 Cambridge New York 4,996
Northeast 1,953 (2016)
26 Bridgewater Massachusetts 4,975
Northeast 28,633
27 Newburyport Massachusetts 4,837
Northeast 18,289
28 Haverstraw New York 4,826
Northeast 39,087
29 Portsmouth New Hampshire 4,720
Northeast 21,956
30 Rehoboth Massachusetts 4,710
Northeast 12,502
31 Shrewsbury New Jersey 4,673
Northeast 1,076
32 Kinderhook New York 4,661
Northeast 8,330
33 Clinton New York 4,607
Northeast 4,037
34 Livingston New York 4,594
Northeast 3,628
35 Ipswich Massachusetts 4,562
Northeast 13,785
36 Hillsdale New York 4,556
Northeast 1,831
37 Sherburne Massachusetts 4,555
Northeast 14,255
38 Middleborough Massachusetts 4,526
Northeast 24,245
39 New Haven Connecticut 4,484
Northeast 135,081
40 Mohawk New York 4,440
Northeast 4,925 (2017)
41 Pawling New York 4,330
Northeast 8,012
42 Caughnawaga New York 4,261
Northeast —
43 New Cornwall New York 4,225
Northeast 12,884
44 Lebanon Connecticut 4,166
Northeast 7,142
45 South Kingstown Rhode Island 4,131
Northeast 31,913
46 Oyster Bay New York 4,097
Northeast 301,332
47 Hartford Connecticut 4,090
Northeast 121,054
48 Glocester Rhode Island 4,025
Northeast 9,974
49 Fairfield Connecticut 4,009
Northeast 61,512
50 Newbury Massachusetts 3,972
Northeast 6,716
51 Kingston New York 3,929
Northeast 24,069
52 Berwick Massachusetts [29] 3,894
Northeast 7,950
53 South Hempstead New York 3,828
Northeast 793,409
54 Wethersfield Connecticut 3,806
Northeast 27,298
55 Taunton Massachusetts 3,804
Northeast 59,408
56 Lower Freehold New Jersey 3,785
Northeast 35,369
57 Lancaster Pennsylvania 3,773
Northeast 58,039
58 Richmond Virginia 3,761
South 226,610
59 Rhinebeck New York 3,662
Northeast 7,548
60 Warwick New York 3,603
Northeast 32,027
61 Halfmoon New York 3,602
Northeast 25,662
62 Beekman New York 3,597
Northeast 14,172
63 Montgomery New York 3,563
Northeast 23,322
64 Woodbridge New Jersey 3,520
Northeast 103,639
65 Albany New York 3,498
Northeast 99,224
66 Schenectady New York 3,472
Northeast 67,047
67 Guilford Connecticut 3,460
Northeast 22,073
68 Upper Freehold New Jersey 3,442
Northeast 7,273
69 Southampton New York 3,408
Northeast 69,036
70 Coxsackie New York 3,406
Northeast 8,382
71 Palatine New York 3,404
Northeast 3,240
72 North East New York 3,401
Northeast 2,971
73 Wallingford Connecticut 3,375
Northeast 44,396
74 New Bedford Massachusetts 3,313
Northeast 102,882
75 Beverly Massachusetts 3,290
Northeast 42,670
76 Claverack New York 3,262
Northeast 5,766 (2016)
77 Huntington New York 3,260
Northeast 204,127
78 Kittery Massachusetts [29] 3,259
Northeast 10,070
79 Stratford Connecticut 3,241
Northeast 52,355
80 Saybrook Connecticut 3,233
Northeast 4,415
81 Chatham Connecticut 3,230
Northeast 12,717
82 Middletown New Jersey 3,225
Northeast 67,106
83 Brookhaven New York 3,224
Northeast 485,773
84 Southold New York 3,219
Northeast 23,732
85 Smithfield Rhode Island 3,171
Northeast 22,118
86 Watertown Connecticut 3,170
Northeast 22,105
87 New Milford Connecticut 3,167
Northeast 28,115
88 Greenwich Connecticut 3,132
Northeast 63,518
89 Brookfield Massachusetts 3,100
Northeast 3,439
90 Amenia New York 3,078
Northeast 3,769
91 Saratoga New York 3,071
Northeast 5,646 (2016)
91 Stillwater New York 3,071
Northeast 8,547 (2018)
93 Wells Massachusetts [29] 3,070
Northeast 11,314
94 Earl Pennsylvania 3,051
Northeast 7,149
95 Hoosick New York 3,035
Northeast 6,824 (2016)
96 Danbury Connecticut 3,030
Northeast 86,518
97 Cocalico Pennsylvania 3,027
Northeast —
98 East Hartford Connecticut 3,016
Northeast 51,045
99 Plymouth Massachusetts 2,995
Northeast 61,217
100
Derby Connecticut 2,994
Northeast 12,325
100
Falmouth Massachusetts [29] 2,994
Northeast 12,444
References [ edit ]
^ a b "1790 Census: Heads of Families" . U.S. Census Bureau.
^ a b Census History Staff. "1790 Overview - History - U.S. Census Bureau" . US Census Bureau . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census History Staff. "1790 Overview - History - U.S. Census Bureau" . US Census Bureau . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ "U.S. Marshals Overcame Hardships and Challenges to Count 3,929,214 People in a Young America" . Census.gov . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Dollarhide, William (2001). The Census Book: A Genealogists Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes . North Salt Lake, Utah: HeritageQuest. p. 7.
^ "1790 Census" . 1930 Census Resources for Genealogists.
^ "About IPUMS NHGIS | IPUMS NHGIS" . www.nhgis.org . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ "Slave, Free Black, and White Population, 1780-1830" . userpages.umbc.edu . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1907). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Vermont ISBN 978-0-87152-015-9
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Free and Slave Populations by State (1790)" . Teaching American History . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ "Slavery in Vermont" . slavenorth.com . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790 : records of the State enumerations: 1782–1785, Virginia
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1907). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: New Hampshire
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Maine . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Massachusetts ISBN 978-0-87152-021-0 . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1907). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Rhode Island . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Connecticut ISBN 978-0-87152-362-4 . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: New York . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790: New York .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Pennsylvania . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1907). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Maryland . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Virginia . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Census Office, United States (1909). "A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900" . p. 47.
^ Census, United States Bureau of the (1908). Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: North Carolina . Retrieved April 20, 2023 .
^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990
^ "Population of Connecticut Towns 1756–1820" . Connecticut Secretary of the State . State of Connecticut. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020 .
^ "Regions and Divisions" . U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016 .
^ a b c d In present day Maine.
External links [ edit ]
1790 United States Census at Wikimedia Commons
R e t r i e v e d f r o m " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1790_United_States_census&oldid=1223576019 " C a t e g o r i e s : ● 1 7 9 0 i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ● 1 s t U n i t e d S t a t e s C o n g r e s s ● U n i t e d S t a t e s c e n s u s ● 1 7 9 0 c e n s u s e s H i d d e n c a t e g o r i e s : ● U s e A m e r i c a n E n g l i s h f r o m M a r c h 2 0 1 9 ● A l l W i k i p e d i a a r t i c l e s w r i t t e n i n A m e r i c a n E n g l i s h ● A r t i c l e s w i t h s h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n ● S h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m W i k i d a t a ● U s e m d y d a t e s f r o m M a y 2 0 2 4 ● C o m m o n s c a t e g o r y l i n k f r o m W i k i d a t a ● A r t i c l e s w i t h J 9 U i d e n t i f i e r s ● A r t i c l e s w i t h L C C N i d e n t i f i e r s
● T h i s p a g e w a s l a s t e d i t e d o n 1 3 M a y 2 0 2 4 , a t 0 1 : 3 7 ( U T C ) . ● T e x t i s a v a i l a b l e u n d e r t h e C r e a t i v e C o m m o n s A t t r i b u t i o n - S h a r e A l i k e L i c e n s e 4 . 0 ;
a d d i t i o n a l t e r m s m a y a p p l y . B y u s i n g t h i s s i t e , y o u a g r e e t o t h e T e r m s o f U s e a n d P r i v a c y P o l i c y . W i k i p e d i a ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e W i k i m e d i a F o u n d a t i o n , I n c . , a n o n - p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n . ● P r i v a c y p o l i c y ● A b o u t W i k i p e d i a ● D i s c l a i m e r s ● C o n t a c t W i k i p e d i a ● C o d e o f C o n d u c t ● D e v e l o p e r s ● S t a t i s t i c s ● C o o k i e s t a t e m e n t ● M o b i l e v i e w
Media related to 1790 United States Census at Wikimedia Commons
