1790 United States census

1790 United States census
1790 United States census
	Title page of 1790 United States census
General information
Country	United States
Authority	Office of the United States Marshal
Results
Total population	3,929,214
Most populous state	Virginia (747,610)
Least populous state	Delaware (59,094)

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

Both Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and President George Washington expressed skepticism^[4] over the results, believing that the true population had been undercounted. If indeed an undercount was the result, possible explanations for it include dispersed population, poor transportation links, limitations of contemporary technology, and individual refusal to participate.^[5]

Questions

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

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] Almost one-third of the original census data have been lost or destroyed since their original documentation. These include some 1790 data from 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]

Data

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] The census was not conducted in 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%

City rankings

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

External links

Media related to 1790 United States Census at Wikimedia Commons

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