1920 United States Census

The United States Census of 1920, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated during the 1910 Census.

Fourteenth Census
of the United States
U.S. Census Bureau Seal
General information
CountryUnited States
Date takenJanuary 5, 1920
Total population106,021,537
Percent change 15.0%
Most populous stateNew York
10,385,227
Least populous stateNevada
77,407

Despite the constitutional requirement that House seats be reapportioned to the states respective of their population every ten years according to the census, members of Congress failed to agree on a reapportionment plan following this census, and the distribution of seats from the 1910 census remained in effect until 1933. In 1929, Congress passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 which provided for a permanent method of reapportionment and fixed the number of Representatives at 435.

This was the first census in which a state – New York – recorded a population of more than ten million.

This census also marked a significant population shift from rural to urban. According to the Census Bureau, "Beginning in 1910, the minimum population threshold to be categorized as an urban place was set at 2,500. "Urban" was defined as including all territory, persons, and housing units within an incorporated area that met the population threshold. The 1920 census marked the first time in which over 50 percent of the U.S. population was defined as urban."[1]

Census questions

The 1920 census collected the following information:[2]

  • address
  • name
  • relationship to head of family
  • sex
  • race
  • age
  • marital status
  • if foreign born, year of immigration to the U.S., whether naturalized and, if so, year of naturalization
  • school attendance
  • literacy
  • birthplace of person and parents
  • if foreign-born, the mother tongue
  • ability to speak English
  • occupation, industry, and class of worker migratory
  • whether home owned or rented, and, if owned, whether free or mortgaged

Full documentation for the 1920 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

State rankings
Rank State Population as of
1920 Census		 Population as of
1910 Census		 Change Percent
change
1  New York 10,385,227 9,113,614 1,271,613 14.0%
2  Pennsylvania 8,720,017 7,665,111 1,054,906 13.8%
3  Illinois 6,485,280 5,638,591 846,689 15.0%
4  Ohio 5,759,394 4,767,121 992,273 20.8%
5  Texas 4,663,228 3,896,542 766,686 19.7%
6  Massachusetts 3,852,356 3,366,416 485,940 14.4%
7  Michigan 3,668,412 2,810,173 858,239 30.5%
8  California 3,426,861 2,377,549 1,049,312 44.1%
9  Missouri 3,404,055 3,293,335 110,720 3.4%
10  New Jersey 3,155,900 2,537,167 618,733 24.4%
11  Indiana 2,930,390 2,700,876 229,514 8.5%
12  Georgia 2,895,832 2,609,121 286,711 11.0%
13  Wisconsin 2,632,067 2,333,860 298,207 12.8%
14  North Carolina 2,559,123 2,206,287 352,836 16.0%
15  Kentucky 2,416,630 2,289,905 126,725 5.5%
16  Iowa 2,404,021 2,224,771 179,250 8.1%
17  Minnesota 2,387,125 2,075,708 311,417 15.0%
18  Alabama 2,348,174 2,138,093 210,081 9.8%
19  Tennessee 2,337,885 2,184,789 153,096 7.0%
20  Virginia 2,309,187 2,061,612 247,575 12.0%
21  Oklahoma 2,028,283 1,657,155 371,128 22.4%
22  Louisiana 1,798,509 1,656,388 142,121 8.6%
23  Mississippi 1,790,618 1,797,114 -6,496 -0.4%
24  Kansas 1,769,257 1,690,949 78,308 4.6%
25  Arkansas 1,752,204 1,574,449 177,755 11.3%
26  South Carolina 1,683,724 1,515,400 168,324 11.1%
27  West Virginia 1,463,701 1,221,119 242,582 19.9%
28  Maryland 1,449,661 1,295,346 154,315 11.9%
29  Connecticut 1,380,631 1,114,756 265,875 23.9%
30  Washington 1,356,621 1,141,990 214,631 18.8%
31  Nebraska 1,296,372 1,192,214 104,158 8.7%
32  Florida 968,470 752,619 215,851 28.7%
33  Colorado 939,629 799,024 140,605 17.6%
34  Oregon 783,389 672,765 110,624 16.4%
35  Maine 768,014 742,371 25,643 3.5%
36  North Dakota 646,872 577,056 69,816 12.1%
37  South Dakota 636,547 583,888 52,659 9.0%
38  Rhode Island 604,397 542,610 61,787 11.4%
39  Montana 548,889 376,053 172,836 46.0%
40  Utah 449,396 373,351 76,045 20.4%
41  New Hampshire 443,083 430,572 12,511 2.9%
–  District of Columbia 437,571 331,069 106,502 32.2%
42  Idaho 431,866 325,594 106,272 32.6%
43  New Mexico 360,350 327,301 33,049 10.1%
44  Vermont 352,428 355,956 -3,528 -1.0%
45  Arizona 334,162 204,354 129,808 63.5%
–  Hawaii 255,881 191,874 64,007 33.4%
46  Delaware 223,003 202,322 20,681 10.2%
47  Wyoming 194,402 145,965 48,437 33.2%
48  Nevada 77,407 81,875 -4,468 -5.5%
–  Alaska 55,036 64,356 -9,320 -14.5%

Territories
United States Territories
Year of conquest or purchase Territory Population
1867 Alaska 55,036
1898 Hawaii 255,881
1898 Puerto Rico 1,299,809
1898 Guam 13,275
1898 Philippine Islands 10,314,310
1899 American Samoa N/A
1903 Panama Canal Zone N/A
1915 Haiti N/A
1916 Santo Domingo 894,652
1916 US Virgin Islands N/A

City rankings
RankCityStatePopulation[3]Region (2016)[4]
01New YorkNew York5,620,048Northeast
02ChicagoIllinois2,701,705Midwest
03PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,823,779Northeast
04DetroitMichigan993,078Midwest
05ClevelandOhio796,841Midwest
06St. LouisMissouri772,897Midwest
07BostonMassachusetts748,060Northeast
08BaltimoreMaryland733,826South
09PittsburghPennsylvania588,343Northeast
10Los AngelesCalifornia576,673West
11BuffaloNew York506,775Northeast
12San FranciscoCalifornia506,676West
13MilwaukeeWisconsin457,147Midwest
14WashingtonDistrict of Columbia437,571South
15NewarkNew Jersey414,524Northeast
16CincinnatiOhio401,247Midwest
17New OrleansLouisiana387,219South
18MinneapolisMinnesota380,582Midwest
19Kansas CityMissouri324,410Midwest
20SeattleWashington315,312West
21IndianapolisIndiana314,194Midwest
22Jersey CityNew Jersey298,103Northeast
23RochesterNew York295,750Northeast
24PortlandOregon258,288West
25DenverColorado256,491West
26ToledoOhio243,164Midwest
27ProvidenceRhode Island237,595Northeast
28ColumbusOhio237,031Midwest
29LouisvilleKentucky234,891South
30Saint PaulMinnesota234,698Midwest
31OaklandCalifornia216,261West
32AkronOhio208,435Midwest
33AtlantaGeorgia200,616South
34OmahaNebraska191,601Midwest
35WorcesterMassachusetts179,754Northeast
36BirminghamAlabama178,806South
37SyracuseNew York171,717Northeast
38RichmondVirginia171,667South
39New HavenConnecticut162,537Northeast
40MemphisTennessee162,351South
41San AntonioTexas161,379South
42DallasTexas158,976South
43DaytonOhio152,559Midwest
44BridgeportConnecticut143,555Northeast
45HoustonTexas138,276South
46HartfordConnecticut138,036Northeast
47ScrantonPennsylvania137,783Northeast
48Grand RapidsMichigan137,634Midwest
49PatersonNew Jersey135,875Northeast
50YoungstownOhio132,358Midwest
51SpringfieldMassachusetts129,614Northeast
52Des MoinesIowa126,468Midwest
53New BedfordMassachusetts121,217Northeast
54Fall RiverMassachusetts120,485Northeast
55TrentonNew Jersey119,289Northeast
56NashvilleTennessee118,342South
57Salt Lake CityUtah118,110West
58CamdenNew Jersey116,309Northeast
59NorfolkVirginia115,777South
60AlbanyNew York113,344Northeast
61LowellMassachusetts112,759Northeast
62WilmingtonDelaware110,168South
63CambridgeMassachusetts109,694Northeast
64ReadingPennsylvania107,784Northeast
65Fort WorthTexas106,482South
66SpokaneWashington104,437West
67Kansas CityKansas101,177Midwest
68YonkersNew York100,176Northeast
69LynnMassachusetts99,148Northeast
70DuluthMinnesota98,917Midwest
71TacomaWashington96,965West
72ElizabethNew Jersey95,783Northeast
73LawrenceMassachusetts94,270Northeast
74UticaNew York94,156Northeast
75EriePennsylvania93,372Northeast
76SomervilleMassachusetts93,091Northeast
77WaterburyConnecticut91,715Northeast
78FlintMichigan91,599Midwest
79JacksonvilleFlorida91,558South
80Oklahoma CityOklahoma91,295South
81SchenectadyNew York88,723Northeast
82CantonOhio87,091Midwest
83Fort WayneIndiana86,549Midwest
84EvansvilleIndiana85,264Midwest
85SavannahGeorgia83,252South
86ManchesterNew Hampshire78,384Northeast
87St. JosephMissouri77,939Midwest
88KnoxvilleTennessee77,818South
89El PasoTexas77,560South
90BayonneNew Jersey76,754Northeast
91PeoriaIllinois76,121Midwest
92HarrisburgPennsylvania75,917Northeast
93San DiegoCalifornia74,683West
94Wilkes-BarrePennsylvania73,833Northeast
95AllentownPennsylvania73,502Northeast
96WichitaKansas72,217Midwest
97TulsaOklahoma72,075South
98TroyNew York71,996Northeast
99Sioux CityIowa71,227Midwest
100South BendIndiana70,983Midwest

Data availability

The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s; after which the original sheets were destroyed.[5] (dead link). The microfilmed census is available in rolls from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations also host images of the microfilmed census online, and digital indices.

Microdata from the 1920 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.

Notes
  1. "History: Urban and Rural". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  2. "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. pp. 45 (p. 51 of PDF). Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  3. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  4. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  5. Algonquin Area Public Library District. "Census Secrets" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2012.
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