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.

Census questions

The 1920 census collected the following information:[1]

  • 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
RankStatePopulation
1New York10,385,227
2Pennsylvania8,720,017
3Illinois6,485,280
4Ohio5,759,394
5Texas4,663,228
6Massachusetts3,852,356
7Michigan3,668,412
8California3,426,861
9Missouri3,404,055
10New Jersey3,155,900
11Indiana2,930,390
12Georgia2,895,832
13Wisconsin2,632,067
14North Carolina2,559,123
15Kentucky2,416,630
16Iowa2,404,021
17Minnesota2,387,125
18Alabama2,348,174
19Tennessee2,337,885
20Virginia2,309,187
21Oklahoma2,028,283
22Louisiana1,798,509
23Mississippi1,790,618
24Kansas1,769,257
25Arkansas1,752,204
26South Carolina1,683,724
27West Virginia1,463,701
28Maryland1,449,661
29Connecticut1,380,631
30Washington1,356,621
31Nebraska1,296,372
32Florida968,470
33Colorado939,629
34Oregon783,389
35Maine768,014
36North Dakota646,872
37South Dakota636,547
38Rhode Island604,397
39Montana548,889
40Utah449,396
41New Hampshire443,083
xDistrict of Columbia437,571
42Idaho431,866
43New Mexico360,350
44Vermont352,428
45Arizona334,162
46Delaware223,003
47Wyoming194,402
48Nevada77,407

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[2]Region (2016)[3]
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.[4] (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. "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.
  2. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  3. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  4. Algonquin Area Public Library District. "Census Secrets" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2012.
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