1860 United States census
June 1, 1860 (1860-06-01)
1860 U.S. census from the state of New York
General information
CountryUnited States
AuthorityCensus Office
Results
Total population31,443,321 (Increase 35.4%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
3,880,735
Least populous ​stateOregon
52,465

The 1860 United States census was the eighth census conducted in the United States starting June 1, 1860, and lasting five months. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,322 in 33 states and 10 organized territories. This was an increase of 35.4 percent over the 23,069,876 persons enumerated during the 1850 census. The total population included 3,953,762 slaves.

By the time the 1860 census returns were ready for tabulation, the nation was sinking into the American Civil War. As a result, Census Superintendent Joseph C. G. Kennedy and his staff produced only an abbreviated set of public reports, without graphic or cartographic representations. The statistics did allow the census staff to produce a cartographic display, including preparing maps of Southern states, for Union field commanders. These maps displayed militarily vital topics, including the white population, slave population, predominant agricultural products (by county), and rail and post road transportation routes.

This census saw Philadelphia regain its position as a second-most populous American city, which it had lost to Baltimore in 1820, due to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 merging many smaller surrounding townships, such as Spring Garden, Northern Liberties, and Kensington, into the main city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia would lose the second-most populous American city position to Chicago in 1890.

Census questions

The 1860 census Schedule 1 (Free Inhabitants) was one of two schedules that counted the population of the United States; the other was Schedule 2 (Slave Inhabitants).

Schedule 1 collected the following information:[1]

Column Title Notes
1Dwelling-houses – numbered in the order of visitation.
2Families numbered in the order of visitation
3The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June 1860, was in this family.
4Description: Age.
5Description: Sex.M or F
6Description: Color, (White, black, or mulatto).W, B or M
7Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age.
8Value of Estate Owned: Value of Real Estate.
9Value of Estate Owned: Value of Personal Estate.
10Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country.
11Married within the year.Marked with '/'
12Attended School within the year.Marked with '/'
13Persons over 20 years of age who can not read and write.Marked with '/'
14Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict.

Schedule 2 (Slave Inhabitants) collected the following information:[2]

Column Title Notes
1Name of slave owner
2Number of slaves
3Age
4Sex
5Color
6Fugitive from the stateMarked with '/'
7Number Manumitted
8Deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic
9Number of slave houses

Data availability

Full documentation for the 1860 population census, including microdata, census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS). Aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

Common occupations

National data reveals that farmers (owners and tenants) made up nearly 10% of utilized occupations. Farm laborers (wage workers) represent the next highest percent with 3.2%, followed by general laborers at 3.0%.[3]

More localized data shows that other occupations were common. In the town of Essex, Massachusetts, a large section of the women in the labor force were devoted to shoe-binding, while for men the common occupations were farming and shoe-making.[4] This heavy demand of shoe-related labor reinforces the high demand for rigorous physical laborers in the economy, as supported by the data of very large amounts of farm related work as compared to most other labor options.

IPUMS' data also notes that the share of the population that had been enrolled in school or marked as "Student" stood at 0.2%. This demonstrates a small rate of growth, if any, in the proficiency of the human capital of the time—the skill set a worker has to apply to the labor force, which can increase total output through increased efficiency.

The census of 1860 was the last in which much of Southern wealth was held as slaves—still legally considered property. Analogous to today where wealth can fluctuate with value changes in stocks, factories, and other forms of property, the South suffered a huge loss of total wealth and assets when the American Civil War ended and slaves were no longer counted as physical property.

Population of U.S. states and territories

Population of the US States and Territories[5][6][7]
RankStatePopulationFree PopulationSlave PopulationPercentage Enslaved
01New York3,880,7353,880,73500
02Pennsylvania2,906,2152,906,21500
03Ohio2,339,5112,339,51100
04Illinois1,711,9511,711,95100
05Virginia1,596,3181,105,453490,86530.7
06Indiana1,350,4281,350,42800
07Massachusetts1,231,0661,231,06600
08Missouri1,182,0121,067,081114,9319.7
09Kentucky1,155,684930,201225,48319.5
10Tennessee1,109,801834,082275,71924.8
11Georgia1,057,286595,088462,19843.7
12North Carolina992,622661,563331,05933.4
13Alabama964,201529,121435,08045.1
14Mississippi791,305354,674436,63155.2
15Wisconsin775,881775,88100
16Michigan749,113749,11300
17Louisiana708,002376,276331,72646.9
18South Carolina703,708301,302402,40657.2
19Maryland687,049599,86087,18912.7
20Iowa674,913674,91300
21New Jersey672,035672,017180.01
22Maine628,279628,27900
23Texas604,215421,649182,56630.2
24Connecticut460,147460,14700
25Arkansas435,450324,335111,11525.5
26California379,994379,99400
27New Hampshire326,073326,07300
28Vermont315,098315,09800
29Rhode Island174,620174,62000
30Minnesota172,023172,02300
31Florida140,42478,67961,74544.0
32Delaware112,216110,4181,7981.6
33Oregon52,46552,46500
XKansas Territory[8]107,206107,20420.01
XNew Mexico Territory93,51493,5140[9]0
XDistrict of Columbia75,08071,9853,1854.4
XUtah Territory40,27340,184890.01
XColorado Territory34,27734,27700
XNebraska Territory28,84128,826150.01
XWashington Territory11,59411,59400
XNevada Territory6,8486,85700
XDakota Territory4,8374,83700

City rankings

RankCityStatePopulation[10]Region (2016)[11]
01New YorkNew York813,669Northeast
02PhiladelphiaPennsylvania565,529Northeast
03BrooklynNew York266,661Northeast
04BaltimoreMaryland212,418South
05BostonMassachusetts177,840Northeast
06New OrleansLouisiana168,675South
07CincinnatiOhio161,044Midwest
08St. LouisMissouri160,773Midwest
09ChicagoIllinois112,172Midwest
10BuffaloNew York81,129Northeast
11NewarkNew Jersey71,941Northeast
12LouisvilleKentucky68,033South
13AlbanyNew York62,367Northeast
14WashingtonDistrict of Columbia61,122South
15San FranciscoCalifornia56,802West
16ProvidenceRhode Island50,666Northeast
17PittsburghPennsylvania49,221Northeast
18RochesterNew York48,204Northeast
19DetroitMichigan45,619Midwest
20MilwaukeeWisconsin45,246Midwest
21ClevelandOhio43,417Midwest
22CharlestonSouth Carolina40,522South
23New HavenConnecticut39,267Northeast
24TroyNew York39,235Northeast
25RichmondVirginia37,910South
26LowellMassachusetts36,827Northeast
27MobileAlabama29,258South
28Jersey CityNew Jersey29,226Northeast
29AlleghenyPennsylvania28,702Northeast
30SyracuseNew York28,119Northeast
31HartfordConnecticut26,917Northeast
32PortlandMaine26,341Northeast
33CambridgeMassachusetts26,060Northeast
34RoxburyMassachusetts25,137Northeast
35CharlestownMassachusetts25,065Northeast
36WorcesterMassachusetts24,960Northeast
37ReadingPennsylvania23,162Northeast
38MemphisTennessee22,623South
39UticaNew York22,529Northeast
40New BedfordMassachusetts22,300Northeast
41SavannahGeorgia22,292South
42SalemMassachusetts22,252Northeast
43WilmingtonDelaware21,258South
44ManchesterNew Hampshire20,107Northeast
45DaytonOhio20,081Midwest
46PatersonNew Jersey19,586Northeast
47LynnMassachusetts19,083Northeast
48IndianapolisIndiana18,611Midwest
49ColumbusOhio18,554Midwest
50PetersburgVirginia18,266South
51LawrenceMassachusetts17,639Northeast
52LancasterPennsylvania17,603Northeast
53TrentonNew Jersey17,228Northeast
54NashvilleTennessee16,988South
55OswegoNew York16,816Northeast
56CovingtonKentucky16,471South
57BangorMaine16,407Northeast
58TauntonMassachusetts15,376Northeast
59SpringfieldMassachusetts15,199Northeast
60PoughkeepsieNew York14,726Northeast
61NorfolkVirginia14,620South
62CamdenNew Jersey14,358Northeast
63WheelingVirginia14,083South
64NorwichConnecticut14,048Northeast
65PeoriaIllinois14,045Midwest
66Fall RiverMassachusetts14,026Northeast
67SacramentoCalifornia13,785West
68ToledoOhio13,768Midwest
69QuincyIllinois13,718Midwest
70HarrisburgPennsylvania13,405Northeast
71NewburyportMassachusetts13,401Northeast
72ChelseaMassachusetts13,395Northeast
73SmithfieldRhode Island13,283Northeast
74DubuqueIowa13,000Midwest
75AlexandriaVirginia12,652South
76New AlbanyIndiana12,647Midwest
77NewburghNew York12,578Northeast
78AugustaGeorgia12,493South
79BridgeportConnecticut12,106Northeast
80North ProvidenceRhode Island11,818Northeast
81ElizabethNew Jersey11,567Northeast
82EvansvilleIndiana11,484Midwest
83DavenportIowa11,267Midwest
84New BrunswickNew Jersey11,256Northeast
85AuburnNew York10,986Northeast
86GloucesterMassachusetts10,904Northeast
87ConcordNew Hampshire10,896Northeast
88LockportNew York10,871Northeast
89NewportRhode Island10,508Northeast
90Saint PaulMinnesota10,401Midwest
91New LondonConnecticut10,115Northeast
92NashuaNew Hampshire10,065Northeast
93NewportKentucky10,046South
94WaterburyConnecticut10,004Northeast
95HaverhillMassachusetts9,995Northeast
96DorchesterMassachusetts9,769Northeast
97HobokenNew Jersey9,662Northeast
98ColumbusGeorgia9,621South
99SchenectadyNew York9,579Northeast
100AtlantaGeorgia9,554South

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "1860 Census Questionnaire" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ "1860 Census Records - What Questions did the census ask?". US Census Bureau. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ "IPUMS 1860 Census Data". IPUMS Data Collection. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ Wilhelm, Kurt. "Essex, MA Census 1860". 1860 Federal Census. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ Data tabulated by "1860 Census Results". The Civil War Home Page. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  6. ↑ Population figures checked against "1860 Census: Population of the United States". Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. December 20, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  7. ↑ "1860 Census: Population of the United States". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 7, 2019. Used as a source for slavery figures for territories (which were not included in the original source).
  8. ↑ Kansas is admitted as a state in 1861, prior to the publication of the 1860 Census in 1864, and therefore listed as a state not a territory in the 1860 Census.
  9. ↑ Slavery was banned in New Mexico in 1862. No data for slavery in 1860 is provided in the 1860 Census, which was published in 1864.
  10. ↑ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  11. ↑ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

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