Sixteenth census
of the United States
April 1, 1940 (1940-04-01)
U.S. Census Bureau seal
Population schedule
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population132,164,569 (Increase 7.6%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
13,479,142
Least populous ​stateNevada
110,247

The 1940 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.6 percent over the 1930 population of 122,775,046 people. The census date of record was April 1, 1940.

A number of new questions were asked including where people were five years before, highest educational grade achieved, and information about wages. This census introduced sampling techniques; one in 20 people were asked additional questions on the census form. Other innovations included a field test of the census in 1939. This was the first census in which every state (48) had a population greater than 100,000.

Census questions

The 1940 census collected the following information:[1]

  • address
  • home owned or rented
    • if owned, value
    • if rented, monthly rent
  • whether on a farm
  • name
  • relationship to head of household
  • sex
  • race
  • age
  • marital status
  • school attendance
  • educational attainment
  • birthplace
  • if foreign born, citizenship
  • location of residence five years ago and whether on a farm
  • employment status
  • if at work, whether in private or non-emergency government work, or in public emergency work (WPA, CCC, NYA, etc.)
    • if in private or non-emergency government work, hours worked in week
    • if seeking work or on public emergency work, duration of unemployment
  • occupation, industry and class of worker
  • weeks worked last year
  • wage and salary income last year

In addition, a sample of individuals were asked additional questions covering age at first marriage, fertility, and other topics. Full documentation on the 1940 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability

1940 U.S. census poster

Following completion of the census, the original enumeration sheets were microfilmed; after which the original sheets were destroyed.[2]

As required by Title 13 of the U.S. Code, access to personally identifiable information from census records was restricted for 72 years.[3] Non-personally identifiable information Microdata from the 1940 census is freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Also, aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

On April 2, 2012[4]—72 years after the census was taken—microfilmed images of the 1940 census enumeration sheets were released to the public by the National Archives and Records Administration.[5][6] The records are indexed only by enumeration district upon initial release; several organizations are compiling indices, in some cases through crowdsourcing.[7]

State rankings

A map showing the population change of each US State by percentage.


Rank State Population as of
1940 census[8]		 Population as of
1930 census		 Change Percent
change
1  New York 13,479,142 12,588,066 891,076 Increase 7.1% Increase
2  Pennsylvania 9,900,180 9,631,350 268,830 Increase 2.8% Increase
3  Illinois 7,897,241 7,630,654 266,587 Increase 3.5% Increase
4  Ohio 6,907,612 6,646,697 260,915 Increase 3.9% Increase
5  California 6,907,387 5,677,251 1,230,136 Increase 21.7% Increase
6  Texas 6,414,824 5,824,715 590,109 Increase 10.1% Increase
7  Michigan 5,256,106 4,842,325 413,781 Increase 8.5% Increase
8  Massachusetts 4,316,721 4,249,614 67,107 Increase 1.6% Increase
9  New Jersey 4,160,165 4,041,334 118,831 Increase 2.9% Increase
10  Missouri 3,784,664 3,629,367 155,297 Increase 4.3% Increase
11  North Carolina 3,571,623 3,170,276 401,347 Increase 12.7% Increase
12  Indiana 3,427,796 3,238,503 189,293 Increase 5.8% Increase
13  Wisconsin 3,137,587 2,939,006 198,581 Increase 6.8% Increase
14  Georgia 3,123,723 2,908,506 215,217 Increase 7.4% Increase
15  Tennessee 2,915,841 2,616,556 299,285 Increase 11.4% Increase
16  Kentucky 2,845,627 2,614,589 231,038 Increase 8.8% Increase
17  Alabama 2,832,961 2,646,248 186,713 Increase 7.1% Increase
18  Minnesota 2,792,300 2,563,953 228,347 Increase 8.9% Increase
19  Virginia 2,677,773 2,421,851 255,922 Increase 10.6% Increase
20  Iowa 2,538,268 2,470,939 67,329 Increase 2.7% Increase
21  Louisiana 2,363,516 2,101,593 261,923 Increase 12.5% Increase
22  Oklahoma 2,336,434 2,396,040 −59,606 Decrease −2.5% Decrease
23  Mississippi 2,183,796 2,009,821 173,975 Increase 8.7% Increase
24  Arkansas 1,949,387 1,854,482 94,905 Increase 5.1% Increase
25  West Virginia 1,901,974 1,729,205 172,769 Increase 10.0% Increase
26  South Carolina 1,899,804 1,738,765 161,039 Increase 9.3% Increase
27  Florida 1,897,414 1,468,211 429,203 Increase 29.2% Increase
28  Maryland 1,821,244 1,631,526 189,718 Increase 11.6% Increase
29  Kansas 1,801,028 1,880,999 −79,971 Decrease −4.3% Decrease
30  Washington 1,736,191 1,563,396 172,795 Increase 11.1% Increase
31  Connecticut 1,709,242 1,606,903 102,339 Increase 6.4% Increase
32  Nebraska 1,315,834 1,377,963 −62,129 Decrease −4.5% Decrease
33  Colorado 1,123,296 1,035,791 87,505 Increase 8.4% Increase
34  Oregon 1,089,684 953,786 135,898 Increase 14.2% Increase
35  Maine 847,226 797,423 49,803 Increase 6.2% Increase
36  Rhode Island 713,346 687,497 25,849 Increase 3.8% Increase
—  District of Columbia 663,091 486,869 176,222 Increase 36.2% Increase
37  South Dakota 642,961 692,849 −49,888 Decrease −7.2% Decrease
38  North Dakota 641,935 680,845 −38,910 Decrease −5.7% Decrease
39  Montana 559,456 537,606 21,850 Increase 4.1% Increase
40  Utah 550,310 507,847 42,463 Increase 8.4% Increase
41  New Mexico 531,818 423,317 108,501 Increase 25.6% Increase
42  Idaho 524,873 445,032 79,841 Increase 17.9% Increase
43  Arizona 499,261 435,573 63,688 Increase 14.6% Increase
44  New Hampshire 491,524 465,293 26,231 Increase 5.6% Increase
—  Hawaii 422,770 368,300 54,470 Increase 14.8% Increase
45  Vermont 359,231 359,611 −380 Decrease −0.1% Decrease
46  Delaware 266,505 238,380 28,125 Increase 11.8% Increase
47  Wyoming 250,742 225,565 25,177 Increase 11.2% Increase
48  Nevada 110,247 91,058 19,189 Increase 21.1% Increase
—  Alaska 72,524 59,278 13,246 Increase 22.3% Increase
—  United States 132,165,129 123,202,660 8,962,469 Increase 7.3% Increase

City rankings

RankCityStatePopulation[9]Region (2016)[10]
01New YorkNew York7,454,995Northeast
02ChicagoIllinois3,396,808Midwest
03PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,931,334Northeast
04DetroitMichigan1,623,452Midwest
05Los AngelesCalifornia1,504,277West
06ClevelandOhio878,336Midwest
07BaltimoreMaryland859,100South
08St. LouisMissouri816,048Midwest
09BostonMassachusetts770,816Northeast
10PittsburghPennsylvania671,659Northeast
11WashingtonDistrict of Columbia663,091South
12San FranciscoCalifornia634,536West
13MilwaukeeWisconsin587,472Midwest
14BuffaloNew York575,901Northeast
15New OrleansLouisiana494,537South
16MinneapolisMinnesota492,370Midwest
17CincinnatiOhio455,610Midwest
18NewarkNew Jersey429,760Northeast
19Kansas CityMissouri399,178Midwest
20IndianapolisIndiana386,972Midwest
21HoustonTexas384,514South
22SeattleWashington368,302West
23RochesterNew York324,975Northeast
24DenverColorado322,412West
25LouisvilleKentucky319,077South
26ColumbusOhio306,087Midwest
27PortlandOregon305,394West
28AtlantaGeorgia302,288South
29OaklandCalifornia302,163West
30Jersey CityNew Jersey301,173Northeast
31DallasTexas294,734South
32MemphisTennessee292,942South
33Saint PaulMinnesota287,736Midwest
34ToledoOhio282,349Midwest
35BirminghamAlabama267,583South
36San AntonioTexas253,854South
37ProvidenceRhode Island253,504Northeast
38AkronOhio244,791Midwest
39OmahaNebraska223,844Midwest
40DaytonOhio210,718Midwest
41SyracuseNew York205,967Northeast
42Oklahoma CityOklahoma204,424South
43San DiegoCalifornia203,341West
44WorcesterMassachusetts193,694Northeast
45RichmondVirginia193,042South
46Fort WorthTexas177,662South
47JacksonvilleFlorida173,065South
48MiamiFlorida172,172South
49YoungstownOhio167,720Midwest
50NashvilleTennessee167,402South
51HartfordConnecticut166,267Northeast
52Grand RapidsMichigan164,292Midwest
53Long BeachCalifornia164,271West
54New HavenConnecticut160,605Northeast
55Des MoinesIowa159,819Midwest
56FlintMichigan151,543Midwest
57Salt Lake CityUtah149,934West
58SpringfieldMassachusetts149,554Northeast
59BridgeportConnecticut147,121Northeast
60NorfolkVirginia144,332South
61YonkersNew York142,598Northeast
62TulsaOklahoma142,157South
63ScrantonPennsylvania140,404Northeast
64PatersonNew Jersey139,656Northeast
65AlbanyNew York130,577Northeast
66ChattanoogaTennessee128,163South
67TrentonNew Jersey124,697Northeast
68SpokaneWashington122,001West
69Kansas CityKansas121,458Midwest
70Fort WayneIndiana118,410Midwest
71CamdenNew Jersey117,536Northeast
72EriePennsylvania116,955Northeast
73Fall RiverMassachusetts115,428Northeast
74WichitaKansas114,966Midwest
75WilmingtonDelaware112,504South
76GaryIndiana111,719Midwest
77KnoxvilleTennessee111,580South
78CambridgeMassachusetts110,879Northeast
79ReadingPennsylvania110,568Northeast
80New BedfordMassachusetts110,341Northeast
81ElizabethNew Jersey109,912Northeast
82TacomaWashington109,408West
83CantonOhio108,401Midwest
84TampaFlorida108,391South
85SacramentoCalifornia105,958West
86PeoriaIllinois105,087Midwest
87SomervilleMassachusetts102,177Northeast
88LowellMassachusetts101,389Northeast
89South BendIndiana101,268Midwest
90DuluthMinnesota101,065Midwest
91CharlotteNorth Carolina100,899South
92UticaNew York100,518Northeast
93WaterburyConnecticut99,314Northeast
94ShreveportLouisiana98,167South
95LynnMassachusetts98,123Northeast
96EvansvilleIndiana97,062Midwest
97AllentownPennsylvania96,904Northeast
98El PasoTexas96,810South
99SavannahGeorgia95,996South
100Little RockArkansas88,039South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1940. Not shown: Manila, Philippines.

Use for Japanese American internment

During World War II, the Census Bureau responded to numerous information requests from US government agencies, including the US Army and the US Secret Service, to facilitate the internment of Japanese Americans. In his report of the operation, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt wrote that "The most important single source of information prior to the evacuation was the 1940 Census of Population."[11][12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. p. 45 (p. 51 of PDF). Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ The Ancestry Insider (May 16, 2012). "1940 Census Update for 16 May 2012: Bad News". www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Historical Background". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  4. ↑ "1940 Census". Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
  5. ↑ Weinstein, Allen (April 2008). "Access to genealogy data at NARA grows" (PDF). NARA Staff Bulletin. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  6. ↑ Weinstein, Allen (Summer 2008). "Finding Out Who You Are: First Stop, National Archives". Prologue magazine, vol. 40, no. 2. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  7. ↑ Daley, Bill (March 27, 2012). "Unlocking a new door to the 1940s – 1940 census details to be released to public". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  8. ↑ "1940 Census of Population: Volume 1. Number of Inhabitants".
  9. ↑ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  10. ↑ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  11. ↑ Japanese evacuation from the West coast, 1942 : final report, by De Witt, J. L. (John Lesesne), b. 1880; United States. Army. Western Defense Command
  12. ↑ Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II
  13. ↑ Some Japanese-Americans Wrongfully Imprisoned During WWII Oppose Census Question
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