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
Title page of 1790 United States Census
General information
CountryUnited States
Date takenAugust 2, 1790 (1790-08-02)
Total population3,893,635
Most populous stateVirginia
747,610
Least populous stateDelaware
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 slaves.[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 slaves 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 Slaves 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 slaves 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
RankCityStatePopulation[9][10]Region (2016)[11]Population (2010)
01New YorkNew York33,131Northeast1,585,873 [Manhattan only]
02PhiladelphiaPennsylvania28,522Northeast135,872 [Center City only]
03BostonMassachusetts18,320Northeast617,594
04CharlestonSouth Carolina16,359South120,083
05BaltimoreMaryland13,503South620,961
06NorwalkConnecticut11,942Northeast85,603
07Northern LibertiesPennsylvania9,913NortheastN/A
08SalemMassachusetts7,921Northeast41,340
09NewportRhode Island6,716Northeast24,672
10ProvidenceRhode Island6,380Northeast178,042
11MarbleheadMassachusetts5,661Northeast19,808
12SouthwarkPennsylvania5,661NortheastN/A
13GloucesterMassachusetts5,317Northeast28,789
14NewburyportMassachusetts4,837Northeast17,416
15PortsmouthNew Hampshire4,720Northeast21,233
16SherburneMassachusetts4,555Northeast10,172
17MiddleboroughMassachusetts4,526Northeast23,116
18New HavenConnecticut4,487Northeast129,779
19South KingstownRhode Island4,131Northeast30,639
20TauntonMassachusetts3,804Northeast55,874
21LancasterPennsylvania3,762Northeast59,322
22RichmondVirginia3,761South204,214
23AlbanyNew York3,498Northeast97,856
24New BedfordMassachusetts3,313Northeast95,072
25BeverlyMassachusetts3,290Northeast39,502
26SmithfieldRhode Island3,171Northeast21,430
27DanburyConnecticut3,031Northeast80,893
28PlymouthMassachusetts2,995Northeast56,468
29NorfolkVirginia2,959South242,803
30North KingstownRhode Island2,907Northeast26,486
31AndoverMassachusetts2,863Northeast33,201
32RochesterNew Hampshire2,857Northeast29,752
33PetersburgVirginia2,828South32,420
34AlexandriaVirginia2,748South139,966
35FarmingtonConnecticut2,696Northeast25,340
36HartfordConnecticut2,683Northeast124,775
37LondonderryNew Hampshire2,622Northeast24,129
38GilmantonNew Hampshire2,613Northeast3,777
39HudsonNew York2,584Northeast6,713

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.

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