1790 United States Census

The United States Census of 1790 was the first census of the whole United States. It recorded the population of the United States as of Census Day, August 2, 1790, as mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution and applicable laws. In the first census, the population of the United States was enumerated to be 3,929,214.[1]

1790 United States Census
Seal of the United States Census Bureau
Title page of 1790 United States Census
General information
Country	United States
Date taken	August 2, 1790 (1790-08-02)
Total population	3,893,635
Most populous state	Virginia 747,610
Least populous state	Delaware 59,094

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 until 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."[2]

Contemporary perception

Both Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and President George Washington expressed skepticism[3] over the results, believing that the true population had been undercounted. If there was indeed an undercount, possible explanations for it include dispersed population, poor transportation links, limitations of contemporary technology, and individual refusal to participate.

Loss 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.[4] 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; however, the validity and existence of most of these data can be confirmed in many secondary sources pertaining to the first census.[5]

Data availability

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.

Data

Census data included the name of the head of the family and categorized inhabitants as follows: free white males at least 16 years of age (to assess the country's industrial and military potential), free white males under 16 years of age, free white females, all other free persons (reported by sex and color), and enslaved people.[6] Under the direction of the current Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, marshals collected data from all thirteen states (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia), and from the Southwest Territory.[2] 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 enslaved to the free population was the highest ever recorded by any census of the United States.

State	Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families	Free white males under 16 years	Free white females, including heads of families	All other free persons	Enslaved persons	Enslaved % of state population	Total	% of US population
Vermont	22,435	22,328	40,505	255	16[lower-alpha 1][7]	nil	85,539[lower-alpha 2]	2.2%
New Hampshire	36,086	34,851	70,160	630	158	0.1%	141,885	3.6%
Maine	24,384	24,748	46,870	538	0	nil	96,540	2.5%
Massachusetts	95,453	87,289	190,582	5,463	0	nil	378,787[lower-alpha 3][8]	9.7%
Rhode Island	16,019	15,799	32,652	3,407	948	1.4%	68,825	1.5%
Connecticut	60,523	54,403	117,448	2,808	2,764	1.2%	237,946	6.1%
New York	83,700	78,122	152,320	4,654	21,324	6.3%	340,120	8.7%
New Jersey	45,251	41,416	83,287	2,762	11,423	6.2%	184,139	4.7%
Pennsylvania	110,788	106,948	206,363	6,537	3,737	0.9%	434,373	11.2%
Delaware	11,783	12,143	22,384	3,899	8,887	15.0%	59,094[lower-alpha 4]	1.5%
Maryland	55,915	51,339	101,395	8,043	103,036	32.2%	319,728	8.2%
Virginia	110,936	116,135	215,046	12,866	292,627	39.1%	747,610[lower-alpha 5][8]	19.2%
Kentucky	15,154	17,057	28,922	114	12,430	16.9%	73,677	1.9%
North Carolina	69,988	77,506	140,710	4,975	100,572	25.5%	393,751	10.1%
South Carolina	35,576	37,722	66,880	1,801	107,094	43.0%	249,073	6.4%
Georgia	13,103	14,044	25,739	398	29,264	35.5%	82,548	2.1%
Total	807,094	791,850	1,541,263	59,150	694,280	17.8%	3,893,635	99.9%

1. The census of 1790, published in 1791, reports 16 enslaved persons in Vermont. Subsequently, and up to 1860, the number is given as 17. An examination of the original manuscript allegedly shows 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". But this claim is disputed by at least one historian.
2. Corrected figures are 85,425, or 114 less than the figures published in 1790, due to an error of addition in the returns for each of the towns of Fairfield, Milton, Shelburne, and Williston, in the county of Chittenden; Brookfield, Newbury, Randolph, and Strafford, in the county of Orange; Castleton, Clarendon, Hubbardton, Poultney, Rutland, Shrewsburg, and Wallingford, in the county of Rutland; Dummerston, Guilford, Halifax, and Westminster, in the county of Windham; and Woodstock, in the county of Windsor.
3. The figures for Massachusetts do not include the population of Maine. Though Maine was then a part of Massachusetts, the Maine figures were compiled separately, and are shown on the line for Maine.
4. Corrected figures are 59,096, or 2 more than figures published in 1790, due to error in addition.
5. 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

Commemorative pitcher with census results

Rank	City	State	Population[9][10]	Region (2016)[11]	Population (2010)
01	New York	New York	33,131	Northeast	1,585,873 [Manhattan only]
02	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	28,522	Northeast	135,872 [Center City only]
03	Boston	Massachusetts	18,320	Northeast	617,594
04	Charleston	South Carolina	16,359	South	120,083
05	Baltimore	Maryland	13,503	South	620,961
06	Norwalk	Connecticut	11,942	Northeast	85,603
07	Northern Liberties	Pennsylvania	9,913	Northeast	N/A
08	Salem	Massachusetts	7,921	Northeast	41,340
09	Newport	Rhode Island	6,716	Northeast	24,672
10	Providence	Rhode Island	6,380	Northeast	178,042
11	Marblehead	Massachusetts	5,661	Northeast	19,808
12	Southwark	Pennsylvania	5,661	Northeast	N/A
13	Gloucester	Massachusetts	5,317	Northeast	28,789
14	Newburyport	Massachusetts	4,837	Northeast	17,416
15	Portsmouth	New Hampshire	4,720	Northeast	21,233
16	Sherburne	Massachusetts	4,555	Northeast	10,172
17	Middleborough	Massachusetts	4,526	Northeast	23,116
18	New Haven	Connecticut	4,487	Northeast	129,779
19	South Kingstown	Rhode Island	4,131	Northeast	30,639
20	Taunton	Massachusetts	3,804	Northeast	55,874
21	Lancaster	Pennsylvania	3,762	Northeast	59,322
22	Richmond	Virginia	3,761	South	204,214
23	Albany	New York	3,498	Northeast	97,856
24	New Bedford	Massachusetts	3,313	Northeast	95,072
25	Beverly	Massachusetts	3,290	Northeast	39,502
26	Smithfield	Rhode Island	3,171	Northeast	21,430
27	Danbury	Connecticut	3,031	Northeast	80,893
28	Plymouth	Massachusetts	2,995	Northeast	56,468
29	Norfolk	Virginia	2,959	South	242,803
30	North Kingstown	Rhode Island	2,907	Northeast	26,486
31	Andover	Massachusetts	2,863	Northeast	33,201
32	Rochester	New Hampshire	2,857	Northeast	29,752
33	Petersburg	Virginia	2,828	South	32,420
34	Alexandria	Virginia	2,748	South	139,966
35	Farmington	Connecticut	2,696	Northeast	25,340
36	Hartford	Connecticut	2,683	Northeast	124,775
37	Londonderry	New Hampshire	2,622	Northeast	24,129
38	Gilmanton	New Hampshire	2,613	Northeast	3,777
39	Hudson	New York	2,584	Northeast	6,713

References

1. "History: 1790 Fast Facts". U.S. Census Bureau.
2. "History: 1790 Overview". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. "1790 Overview". U.S. Census Bureau.
4. Dollarhide, William (2001). The Census Book: A Genealogists Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes. North Salt Lake, Utah: HeritageQuest. p. 7.
5. "1790 Census". 1930 Census Resources for Genealogists.
6. "1790 Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015.
7. "Slavery in Vermont".
8. 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.
9. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
10. "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.
11. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

External links

Media related to 1790 United States Census at Wikimedia Commons

• Historic US Census data
• 1790 Census of Population and Housing official reports
• Population of 24 Urban Places: 1790