1990 United States census

Twenty-first census of the United States
Twenty-first census of the United States
	U.S. Census Bureau and the cats seal
General information
Country	United States
Results
Total population	248,709,873 ( 9.8%)
Most populous state	California; 29,760,021
Least populous state	Wyoming; 453,588

The United States census of 1990, conducted by the Census Bureau, was the first census to be directed by a woman, Barbara Everitt Bryant. It determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 census.^[1]

Approximately 16 percent of households received a "long form" of the 1990 census, which contained more than 100 questions. Full documentation on the 1990 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

It was the first census to designate "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" as a racial group separate from Asians.

To increase black participation in the 1990 United States census, the bureau recruited Bill Cosby, Magic Johnson, Alfre Woodard, and Miss America Debbye Turner as spokespeople.^[2] 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. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2062.^[3]

This was the first census since 1880 in which Chicago was not the second-largest city, having been overtaken by Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, Los Angeles has remained the nation's second-largest city.

State rankings

Population and population change in the United States by state
Rank	State	Population as of 1980 census	Population as of 1990 census	Change	Percent change
1	California	23,667,902	29,760,021	6,092,119	25.7%
2	New York	17,558,072	17,990,455	432,383	2.5%
3	Texas	14,229,191	16,986,510	2,757,319	19.4%
4	Florida	9,746,324	12,937,926	3,191,602	32.7%
5	Pennsylvania	11,863,895	11,881,643	17,748	0.2%
6	Illinois	11,426,518	11,430,602	4,084	0.0%
7	Ohio	10,797,630	10,847,115	49,485	0.4%
8	Michigan	9,262,078	9,295,297	33,219	0.4%
9	New Jersey	7,364,823	7,730,188	365,365	5.0%
10	North Carolina	5,881,766	6,628,637	746,871	12.7%
11	Georgia	5,463,105	6,478,216	1,015,111	18.6%
12	Virginia	5,346,818	6,187,358	840,540	15.7%
13	Massachusetts	5,737,037	6,016,425	279,388	4.9%
14	Indiana	5,490,224	5,544,159	53,935	1.0%
15	Missouri	4,916,686	5,117,073	200,387	4.1%
16	Wisconsin	4,705,767	4,891,769	186,002	3.9%
17	Tennessee	4,591,120	4,877,185	286,065	6.2%
18	Washington	4,132,156	4,866,692	734,536	17.8%
19	Maryland	4,216,975	4,781,468	564,493	13.4%
20	Minnesota	4,075,970	4,375,099	299,129	7.3%
21	Louisiana	4,205,900	4,219,973	14,073	0.3%
22	Alabama	3,893,888	4,040,587	146,699	3.8%
23	Kentucky	3,660,777	3,685,296	24,519	0.7%
24	Arizona	2,718,215	3,665,228	947,013	34.8%
25	South Carolina	3,121,820	3,486,703	364,883	11.7%
26	Colorado	2,889,964	3,294,394	404,430	14.0%
27	Connecticut	3,107,576	3,287,116	179,540	5.8%
28	Oklahoma	3,025,290	3,145,585	120,295	4.0%
29	Oregon	2,633,105	2,842,321	209,216	7.9%
30	Iowa	2,913,808	2,776,755	–137,053	–4.7%
31	Mississippi	2,520,638	2,573,216	52,578	2.1%
32	Kansas	2,363,679	2,477,574	113,895	4.8%
33	Arkansas	2,286,435	2,350,725	64,290	2.8%
34	West Virginia	1,949,644	1,793,477	–156,167	–8.0%
35	Utah	1,461,037	1,722,850	261,813	17.9%
36	Nebraska	1,569,825	1,578,385	8,560	0.5%
37	New Mexico	1,302,894	1,515,069	212,175	16.3%
38	Maine	1,124,660	1,227,928	103,268	9.2%
39	Nevada	800,493	1,201,833	401,340	50.1%
40	New Hampshire	920,610	1,109,252	188,642	20.5%
41	Hawaii	964,691	1,108,229	143,538	14.8%
42	Idaho	943,935	1,006,749	62,814	6.7%
43	Rhode Island	947,154	1,003,464	56,310	5.9%
44	Montana	786,690	799,065	12,375	1.6%
45	South Dakota	690,768	696,004	5,236	0.8%
46	Delaware	594,338	666,168	71,830	12.1%
47	North Dakota	652,717	638,800	–13,917	–2.1%
—	District of Columbia	638,333	606,900	–31,433	–4.9%
48	Vermont	511,456	562,758	51,302	10.0%
49	Alaska	401,851	550,043	148,192	36.8%
50	Wyoming	469,557	453,588	–15,969	–3.4%
	United States	226,545,805	248,709,873	22,164,068	9.8%

Reapportionment

The results of the 1990 census determined the number of seats that each state receives in the United States House of Representatives starting with the 1992 elections. Consequently, this affected the number of votes each state has in the Electoral College for the 1992 presidential election.

Because of population changes, twenty-one states had changes in their number of seats. Eight states gained at least one seat, and thirteen states lost at least one seat. The final result involved 19 seats being switched.^[4]

Gained seven seats	Gained four seats	Gained three seats	Gained one seat	Lost one seat	Lost two seats	Lost three seats
California	Florida	Texas	Arizona Georgia North Carolina Virginia Washington	Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Montana New Jersey West Virginia	Illinois Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania	New York

City rankings

Top five

Rank	City	Population as of 1980 census	Population as of 1990 census	Change	Percent change
1	New York, NY	7,071,639	7,322,564	250,925	3.5%
2	Los Angeles, CA	2,966,850	3,485,398	518,548	17.5%
3	Chicago, IL	3,005,072	2,783,726	-221,346	-7.4%
4	Houston, TX	1,595,138	1,630,553	35,415	2.2%
5	Philadelphia, PA	1,688,210	1,585,577	-102,633	-6.1%

Top 100

Rank as of 1990	City	State	Population as of 1980	Population as of 1990^[5]	Change	Percent change	Region (2016)^[6]
01	New York	New York	7,071,639	7,322,564	250,925	3.6%	Northeast
02	Los Angeles	California	2,966,850	3,485,398	518,548	17.5%	West
03	Chicago	Illinois	3,005,072	2,783,726	-221,346	-7.4%	Midwest
04	Houston	Texas	1,595,138	1,630,553	35,415	2.2%	South
05	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,688,210	1,585,577	-102,633	-6.1%	Northeast
06	San Diego	California	875,538	1,110,549	235,011	26.8%	West
07	Detroit	Michigan	1,203,339	1,027,974	-175,365	-14.6%	Midwest
08	Dallas	Texas	904,078	1,006,877	102,799	11.4%	South
09	Phoenix	Arizona	789,704	983,403	193,699	24.5%	West
10	San Antonio	Texas	785,880	935,933	150,053	19.1%	South
11	San Jose	California	629,442	782,248	152,806	24.3%	West
12	Baltimore	Maryland	786,775	736,014	-50,761	-6.5%	South
13	Indianapolis	Indiana	700,807	731,327	30,520	4.4%	Midwest
14	San Francisco	California	678,974	723,959	44,985	6.6%	West
15	Jacksonville	Florida	540,920	635,230	94,310	17.4%	South
16	Columbus	Ohio	564,871	632,910	68,039	12.0%	Midwest
17	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	636,212	628,088	-8,124	-1.3%	Midwest
18	Memphis	Tennessee	646,356	610,337	-36,019	-5.6%	South
19	Washington	District of Columbia	638,333	606,900	-31,433	-4.9%	South
20	Boston	Massachusetts	562,994	574,283	11,289	2.0%	Northeast
21	Seattle	Washington	493,846	516,259	22,413	4.5%	West
22	El Paso	Texas	425,259	515,342	90,083	21.2%	South
23	Cleveland	Ohio	573,822	505,616	-68,206	-11.9%	Midwest
24	New Orleans	Louisiana	557,515	496,938	-60,577	-10.9%	South
25	Nashville-Davidson	Tennessee	455,651	488,374	32,723	7.2%	South
26	Denver	Colorado	492,365	467,610	-24,755	-5.0%	West
27	Austin	Texas	345,496	465,622	120,126	34.8%	South
28	Fort Worth	Texas	385,164	447,619	62,455	16.2%	South
29	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	403,213	444,719	41,506	10.3%	South
30	Portland	Oregon	366,383	437,319	70,936	19.4%	West
31	Kansas City	Missouri	448,159	435,146	-13,013	Midwest
32	Long Beach	California	361,334	429,433	68,099	West
33	Tucson	Arizona	330,537	405,390	74,853	West
34	St. Louis	Missouri	453,085	396,685	-56,400	Midwest
35	Charlotte	North Carolina	314,447	395,934	81,487	South
36	Atlanta	Georgia	425,022	394,017	-31,005	South
37	Virginia Beach	Virginia	262,199	393,069	130,870	South
38	Albuquerque	New Mexico	331,767	384,736	52,969	West
39	Oakland	California	339,337	372,242	32,905	West
40	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	423,938	369,879	-54,059	Northeast
41	Sacramento	California	275,741	369,365	93,624	West
42	Minneapolis	Minnesota	370,951	368,383	-2,568	Midwest
43	Tulsa	Oklahoma	360,919	367,302	6,383	South
44	Honolulu	Hawaii	365,048	365,272	224	West
45	Cincinnati	Ohio	385,457	364,040	-21,417	Midwest
46	Miami	Florida	346,865	358,548	11,683	South
47	Fresno	California	217,491	354,202	136,711	West
48	Omaha	Nebraska	314,255	335,795	21,540	Midwest
49	Toledo	Ohio	354,635	332,943	-21,692	Midwest
50	Buffalo	New York	357,870	328,123	-29,747	Northeast
51	Wichita	Kansas	279,272	304,011	24,739	Midwest
52	Santa Ana	California	203,173	293,742	90,569	West
53	Mesa	Arizona	152,404	288,104	135,700	West
54	Colorado Springs	Colorado	215,150	281,140	65,990	West
55	Tampa	Florida	271,523	280,015	8,492	South
56	Newark	New Jersey	329,248	275,221	-54,027	Northeast
57	Saint Paul	Minnesota	270,230	272,235	2,005	Midwest
58	Louisville	Kentucky	298,451	269,063	-29,388	South
59	Anaheim	California	219,311	266,406	47,095	West
60	Birmingham	Alabama	284,413	265,968	-18,445	South
61	Arlington	Texas	160,113	261,721	101,608	South
62	Norfolk	Virginia	266,979	261,229	-5,750	South
63	Las Vegas	Nevada	164,674	258,295	93,621	West
64	Corpus Christi	Texas	231,999	257,453	25,454	South
65	St. Petersburg	Florida	238,647	238,629	-18	South
66	Rochester	New York	241,741	231,636	-10,105	Northeast
67	Jersey City	New Jersey	223,532	228,537	5,005	Northeast
68	Riverside	California	170,876	226,505	55,629	West
69	Anchorage	Alaska	174,431	226,338	51,907	West
70	Lexington-Fayette	Kentucky	204,165	225,366	21,201	South
71	Akron	Ohio	237,177	223,019	-14,158	Midwest
72	Aurora	Colorado	158,588	222,103	63,515	West
73	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	219,419	219,531	112	South
74	Raleigh	North Carolina	150,255	212,092	61,837	South
75	Stockton	California	148,283	210,943	62,660	West
76	Richmond	Virginia	219,214	203,056	-16,158	South
77	Shreveport	Louisiana	205,820	198,525	-7,295	South
78	Jackson	Mississippi	202,895	196,637	-6,258	South
79	Mobile	Alabama	200,452	196,278	-4,174	South
80	Des Moines	Iowa	191,003	193,187	2,184	Midwest
81	Lincoln	Nebraska	171,932	191,972	20,040	Midwest
82	Madison	Wisconsin	170,616	191,262	20,646	Midwest
83	Grand Rapids	Michigan	181,843	189,126	7,283	Midwest
84	Yonkers	New York	195,351	188,082	-7,269	Northeast
85	Hialeah	Florida	145,254	188,004	42,750	South
86	Montgomery	Alabama	177,857	187,106	9,249	South
87	Lubbock	Texas	173,979	186,206	12,227	South
88	Greensboro	North Carolina	155,642	183,894	28,252	South
89	Dayton	Ohio	203,371	182,044	-21,327	Midwest
90	Huntington Beach	California	170,505	181,519	11,014	West
91	Garland	Texas	138,857	180,650	41,793	South
92	Glendale	California	139,060	180,038	40,978	West
93	Columbus	Georgia	169,441	178,681	9,240	South
94	Spokane	Washington	171,300	177,196	5,896	West
95	Tacoma	Washington	158,501	176,664	18,163	West
96	Little Rock	Arkansas	158,461	175,795	17,334	South
97	Bakersfield	California	105,611	174,820	69,209	West
98	Fremont	California	131,945	173,339	41,394	West
99	Fort Wayne	Indiana	172,196	173,072	876	Midwest
100	Arlington	Virginia	152,599	170,936	18,337	South

References

^ "Population and Area (Historical Censuses)" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
^ Brown, Frank Dexter (February 1990). "The 1990 Census: Will Blacks Be Counted Out?". Black Enterprise. 20 (7). Earl G. Graves, Ltd: 195. ISSN 0006-4165. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
^ "The "72-Year Rule" – History". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
^ "1990 Apportionment Results". US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

External links

U.S. Census Bureau 1990 Census page
Historic US Census data
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1990 Contains 1990 census results
Booknotes interview with Sam Roberts on Who We Are: A Portrait of America, June 19, 1994.
1991 U.S Census Report (contains 1990 census results)

[1] "Population and Area (Historical Censuses)" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.

[2] Brown, Frank Dexter (February 1990). "The 1990 Census: Will Blacks Be Counted Out?". Black Enterprise. 20 (7). Earl G. Graves, Ltd: 195. ISSN 0006-4165. Retrieved July 29, 2011.

[3] "The "72-Year Rule" – History". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2015.

[4] "1990 Apportionment Results". US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2016.

[census1998-5] Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998

[6] "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

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