1820 United States census

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1820 United States census
← 1810 August 7, 1820 (1820-08-07) 1830 →
Seal of the United States Marshals Service, which administered the census
General information
CountryUnited States
AuthorityOffice of the United States Marshal
Results
Total population9,638,454 (Increase 33.1%)
Most populous stateNew York
1,532,881
Least populous stateIllinois
55,211

The 1820 United States census was the fourth census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 7, 1820. The 1820 census included six new states: Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama and Maine. There has been a district wide loss of 1820 census records for Arkansas Territory, Missouri Territory,[1] and New Jersey.

The total population was determined to be 9,638,453, of which 1,538,022 were slaves. The center of population was about 120 miles (193 km) west-northwest of Washington in Hardy County, Virginia (now in West Virginia).

This was the first census in which any states recorded a population of over one million—New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania—as well as the first in which a city recorded a population of over 100,000—New York. It was also the first census in which Baltimore was ranked as the country's second-most populous city. Thirdly, in this census and the 14 subsequent ones, New York was the most populous state until being superseded by California in the 1970 census.

Census questions

The 1820 census contains a great deal more information than previous censuses. Enumerators listed the following data in columns, left to right:

  1. Name of the head of family
    1. of free white males under age 10
    2. of free white males age 10 to under 16
    3. of free white males age 16 to 18
    4. of free white males age 16 to under 26
    5. of free white males age 26 to under 45
    6. of free white males age 45 and up
    7. of free white females under age 10
    8. of free white females age 10 to under 16
    9. of free white females age 16 to under 26
    10. of free white females age 26 to under 45
    11. of free white females age 45 and up
    12. of foreigners not naturalized
    13. of persons engaged in agriculture
    14. of persons engaged in commerce
    15. of persons engaged in manufacture
    16. of male slaves under 14
    17. of male slaves age 14 to under 26
    18. of male slaves age 26 to under 45
    19. of male slaves age 45 and up
    20. of female slaves under 14
    21. of female slaves age 14 to under 26
    22. of female slaves age 26 to under 45
    23. of female slaves age 45 and up
    24. of free male colored persons under 14
    25. of free male colored persons age 14 to under 26
    26. of free male colored persons age 26 to under 45
    27. of free male colored persons age 45 and up
    28. of free female colored persons under 14
    29. of free female colored persons age 14 to under 26
    30. of free female colored persons age 26 to under 45
    31. of free female colored persons age 45 and up
    32. of all other persons except Indians not taxed

Several of these columns were for special counts, and not to be included in the aggregate total. Doing so would have resulted in counting some individuals twice. Census takers were asked to use double lines, red ink or some other method of distinguishing these columns so that double counting would not occur. For example, the count of free white males between 16 and 18 was a special count, because these individuals were also supposed to be tabulated in the column for free white males of age 16 and under 26.

The other special counts were foreigners not naturalized, persons engaged in agriculture, persons engaged in commerce, and persons engaged in manufacture.

Census takers were also instructed to count each individual in only one of the occupational columns. For example, if an individual was engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufacture, the census taker had to judge which one the individual was primarily engaged in.

Note to researchers

Censustaking was not yet an exact science. Before 1830, enumerators lacked pre-printed forms, and drew up their own, sometimes resulting in pages without headings, line tallies, or column totals. As a result, census records for many towns before 1830 are idiosyncratic. This is not to suggest that they are less reliable than subsequent censuses, but that they may require more work on the part of the researcher.

State rankings

Rank State Population
01 New York 1,532,981
02 Virginia [2] 1,075,069
03 Pennsylvania 1,049,458
04 North Carolina 638,829
05 Ohio 581,434
06 Kentucky 564,317
07 Massachusetts 523,287
08 South Carolina 502,741
09 Tennessee 422,823[a]
10 Maryland 407,350
11 Georgia 340,989
12 Maine 298,335
13 New Jersey 277,575
14 Connecticut 275,202
15 New Hampshire 244,161
16 Vermont 235,981[b]
17 Louisiana 153,407
18 Indiana 147,178
19 Alabama 144,317[4]
X West Virginia [5] 136,808
20 Rhode Island 83,059
21 Mississippi 75,448
22 Delaware 72,749
X Missouri 66,586
23 Illinois 55,211
X District of Columbia [6] 23,336
X Arkansas 14,273
X Michigan 7,452
X Wisconsin 1,444

Notes

  1. ^ Printed as 422,813 in the 1820 report, but later corrected.[3]
  2. ^ Printed as 235,764 in the 1820 report, but later corrected.[3]

City rankings

Rank City State Population[7][8] Region (2016)[9]
01 New York New York 123,706 Northeast
02 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 63,802 Northeast
03 Baltimore Maryland 62,738 South
04 Boston Massachusetts 43,298 Northeast
05 New Orleans Louisiana 27,176 South
06 Charleston South Carolina 24,780 South
07 Northern Liberties Pennsylvania 19,678 Northeast
08 Southwark Pennsylvania 14,713 Northeast
09 Washington District of Columbia 13,247 South
10 Salem Massachusetts 12,731 Northeast
11 Albany New York 12,630 Northeast
12 Richmond Virginia 12,067 South
13 Providence Rhode Island 11,767 Northeast
14 Cincinnati Ohio 9,642 Midwest
15 Portland Maine 8,581 Northeast
16 Norfolk Virginia 8,478 South
17 Alexandria District of Columbia 8,218 South
18 Savannah Georgia 7,523 South
19 Georgetown District of Columbia 7,360 South
20 Portsmouth New Hampshire 7,327 Northeast
21 Newport Rhode Island 7,319 Northeast
22 Nantucket Massachusetts 7,266 Northeast
23 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 7,248 Northeast
24 Brooklyn New York 7,175 Northeast
25 New Haven Connecticut 7,147 Northeast
26 Kensington Pennsylvania 7,118 Northeast
27 Newburyport Massachusetts 6,852 Northeast
28 Petersburg Virginia 6,690 South
29 Lancaster Pennsylvania 6,633 Northeast
30 Charlestown Massachusetts 6,591 Northeast
31 Newark New Jersey 6,507 Northeast
32 Gloucester Massachusetts 6,384 Northeast
33 Marblehead Massachusetts 5,630 Northeast
34 Hudson New York 5,310 Northeast
35 Lexington Kentucky 5,279 South
36 Wilmington Delaware 5,268 South
37 Troy New York 5,264 Northeast
38 Hartford Connecticut 4,726 Northeast
39 Middleborough Massachusetts 4,687 Northeast
40 Smithfield Rhode Island 4,678 Northeast
41 Groton Connecticut 4,664 Northeast
42 Taunton Massachusetts 4,520 Northeast
43 Lynn Massachusetts 4,515 Northeast
44 Middletown New Jersey 4,369 Northeast
45 Plymouth Massachusetts 4,348 Northeast
46 Reading Pennsylvania 4,332 Northeast
47 Beverly Massachusetts 4,283 Northeast
48 Woodbridge New Jersey 4,226 Northeast
49 Deep River Connecticut 4,165 Northeast
50 Fairfield Connecticut 4,151 Northeast
51 Roxbury Massachusetts 4,135 Northeast
52 Lyme Connecticut 4,069 Northeast
53 Louisville Kentucky 4,012 South
54 Evesham New Jersey 3,977 Northeast
55 New Bedford Massachusetts 3,947 Northeast
56 Trenton New Jersey 3,942 Northeast
57 Schenectady New York 3,939 Northeast
58 Springfield Massachusetts 3,914 Northeast
59 Andover Massachusetts 3,889 Northeast
60 Danbury Connecticut 3,873 Northeast
61 Greenwich Connecticut 3,790 Northeast
62 Gilmanton New Hampshire 3,752 Northeast
63 South Kingstown Rhode Island 3,723 Northeast
64 New Bern North Carolina 3,663 South
65 Frederick Maryland 3,640 South
66 York Pennsylvania 3,545 Northeast
67 Fayetteville North Carolina 3,532 South
68 Elizabeth New Jersey 3,515 Northeast
69 Spring Garden Pennsylvania 3,498 Northeast
70 South Amboy New Jersey 3,406 Northeast
71 East Hartford Connecticut 3,375 Northeast
72 New London Connecticut 3,330 Northeast
73 Bristol Rhode Island 3,197 Northeast
74 East Hampton Connecticut 3,159 Northeast
75 Coventry Rhode Island 3,139 Northeast
76 Londonderry New Hampshire 3,127 Northeast
77 Glastonbury Connecticut 3,114 Northeast
78 Franklin, Somerset County New Jersey 3,071 Northeast
79 Haverhill Massachusetts 3,070 Northeast
80 Farmington Connecticut 3,042 Northeast
81 Granby Connecticut 3,012 Northeast
82 Norwalk Connecticut 3,004 Northeast
83 Harrisburg Pennsylvania 2,990 Northeast
84 Norwich Connecticut 2,983 Northeast
85 Utica New York 2,972 Northeast
86 Worcester Massachusetts 2,962 Northeast
87 Carlisle Pennsylvania 2,908 Northeast
88 Berlin Connecticut 2,877 Northeast
89 Nassau New York 2,873 Northeast
90 Dover New Hampshire 2,871 Northeast
91 Concord New Hampshire 2,838 Northeast
92 Orange New Jersey 2,830 Northeast
93 Pittsfield Massachusetts 2,768 Northeast
94 Raleigh North Carolina 2,674 South
95 Hagerstown Maryland 2,670 South
96 Cumberland Rhode Island 2,653 Northeast
97 Piscataway New Jersey 2,648 Northeast
98 Wilmington North Carolina 2,633 South
99 Middletown Connecticut 2,618 Northeast
100 Hackensack New Jersey 2,592 Northeast

References

  1. ^ "Missouri historical review. v.32 1937-38". HathiTrust. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  2. ^ State included territory of future state of West Virginia, so including total population.
  3. ^ a b "Population, 1870-1790, in each State and Territory, by Counties, in Aggregate, and as White, Free Colored, Slave, Chinese, and Indian" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau.
  4. ^ Forstall, Richard L. (1996). Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990. Washington: U.S. Bureau of the Census, pp. 8–11. ISBN 0-934213-48-8. Retrieved May 19, 2021. Due to the late arrival of returns from the counties of Lawrence, Perry, and Washington, the population of the state was incorrectly listed as 127,901 in the official state total.[subnote 1]
  5. ^ Between 1790 and 1860, the state of West Virginia was part of Virginia; the data presented here reflects the present-day boundary and is also included in the total population of Virginia.
  6. ^ The District of Columbia is not a state but was created with the passage of the Residence Act of 1790. The territory that formed that federal capital was originally donated by both Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
  7. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

Notes on references

  1. ^ The relevant note on p. 10 erroneously switches the population values for Perry and Washington counties. The correct values can be found on page 121 of the final census report for 1820.
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