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1950 United States census

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The 1950 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 151,325,798, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census.[1]

Seventeenth census
of the United States
← 1940 April 1, 1950 1960 →
U.S. Census Bureau seal
1950 U.S. census logo
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population151,325,798 (Increase 14.5%)
Most populous stateNew York
15,830,192
Least populous stateNevada
160,083

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

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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

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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. All identifiable information in the census became available in April 2022 upon the release of the images taken by the National Archives and Records Administration.[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] The census data was also made freely searchable by name on other websites.[5] Genealogy companies Ancestry and FamilySearch partnered to use AI and human volunteers to review an index of all names listed on the 1950 census forms.

State rankings

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

City rankings

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Rank City State Population[6] Region (2016)[7]
01 New York New York 7,891,957 Northeast
02 Chicago Illinois 3,620,962 Midwest
03 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2,071,605 Northeast
04 Los Angeles California 1,970,358 West
05 Detroit Michigan 1,849,568 Midwest
06 Baltimore Maryland 949,708 South
07 Cleveland Ohio 914,808 Midwest
08 St. Louis Missouri 856,796 Midwest
09 Washington District of Columbia 802,178 South
10 Boston Massachusetts 801,444 Northeast
11 San Francisco California 775,357 West
12 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 676,806 Northeast
13 Milwaukee Wisconsin 637,392 Midwest
14 Houston Texas 596,163 South
15 Buffalo New York 580,132 Northeast
16 New Orleans Louisiana 570,445 South
17 Minneapolis Minnesota 521,718 Midwest
18 Cincinnati Ohio 503,998 Midwest
19 Seattle Washington 467,591 West
20 Kansas City Missouri 456,622 Midwest
21 Newark New Jersey 438,776 Northeast
22 Dallas Texas 434,462 South
23 Indianapolis Indiana 427,173 Midwest
24 Denver Colorado 415,786 West
25 San Antonio Texas 408,442 South
26 Memphis Tennessee 396,000 South
27 Oakland California 384,575 West
28 Columbus Ohio 375,901 Midwest
29 Portland Oregon 373,628 West
30 Louisville Kentucky 369,129 South
31 San Diego California 334,387 West
32 Rochester New York 332,488 Northeast
33 Atlanta Georgia 331,314 South
34 Birmingham Alabama 326,037 South
35 Saint Paul Minnesota 311,349 Midwest
36 Toledo Ohio 303,616 Midwest
37 Jersey City New Jersey 299,017 Northeast
38 Fort Worth Texas 278,778 South
39 Akron Ohio 274,605 Midwest
40 Omaha Nebraska 251,117 Midwest
41 Long Beach California 250,767 West
42 Miami Florida 249,276 South
43 Providence Rhode Island 248,674 Northeast
44 Dayton Ohio 243,872 Midwest
45 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 243,504 South
46 Richmond Virginia 230,310 South
47 Syracuse New York 220,583 Northeast
48 Norfolk Virginia 213,513 South
49 Jacksonville Florida 204,517 South
50 Worcester Massachusetts 203,486 Northeast
51 Tulsa Oklahoma 182,740 South
52 Salt Lake City Utah 182,121 West
53 Des Moines Iowa 177,965 Midwest
54 Hartford Connecticut 177,397 Northeast
55 Grand Rapids Michigan 176,515 Midwest
56 Nashville Tennessee 174,307 South
57 Youngstown Ohio 168,330 Midwest
58 Wichita Kansas 168,279 Midwest
59 New Haven Connecticut 164,443 Northeast
60 Flint Michigan 163,143 Midwest
61 Springfield Massachusetts 162,399 Northeast
62 Spokane Washington 161,721 West
63 Bridgeport Connecticut 158,709 Northeast
64 Yonkers New York 152,798 Northeast
65 Tacoma Washington 143,673 West
66 Paterson New Jersey 139,336 Northeast
67 Sacramento California 137,572 West
68 Arlington Virginia 135,449 South
69 Albany New York 134,995 Northeast
70 Charlotte North Carolina 134,042 South
71 Gary Indiana 133,911 Midwest
72 Fort Wayne Indiana 133,607 Midwest
73 Austin Texas 132,459 South
74 Chattanooga Tennessee 131,041 South
75 Erie Pennsylvania 130,803 Northeast
76 El Paso Texas 130,485 South
77 Kansas City Kansas 129,553 Midwest
78 Mobile Alabama 129,009 South
79 Evansville Indiana 128,636 Midwest
80 Trenton New Jersey 128,009 Northeast
81 Shreveport Louisiana 127,206 South
82 Baton Rouge Louisiana 125,629 South
83 Scranton Pennsylvania 125,536 Northeast
84 Knoxville Tennessee 124,769 South
85 Tampa Florida 124,681 South
86 Camden New Jersey 124,555 Northeast
87 Cambridge Massachusetts 120,740 Northeast
88 Savannah Georgia 119,638 South
89 Canton Ohio 116,912 Midwest
90 South Bend Indiana 115,911 Midwest
91 Berkeley California 113,805 West
92 Elizabeth New Jersey 112,817 Northeast
93 Fall River Massachusetts 111,963 Northeast
94 Peoria Illinois 111,856 Midwest
95 Wilmington Delaware 110,356 South
96 Reading Pennsylvania 109,320 Northeast
97 New Bedford Massachusetts 109,189 Northeast
98 Corpus Christi Texas 108,287 South
99 Phoenix Arizona 106,818 West
100 Allentown Pennsylvania 106,756 Northeast

Locations of 50 most populous cities

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

References

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  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. ^ a b "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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