Jump to content

1930 United States census

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Spesh531 (talk | contribs) at 13:55, 9 January 2024 (→Notes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fifteenth census
of the United States
← 1920 April 1, 1930 1940 →
U.S. Census Bureau seal
Population schedule
Indian census roll
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population122,775,046 (Increase 13.7%)
Most populous stateNew York
12,588,066
Least populous stateNevada
91,058

The 1930 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during the 1920 census.

It was the first time the effects of suburban sprawl were recorded when, during the Roaring Twenties, a significant portion of the working population of New York City moved to New Jersey, aided by the George Washington Bridge which permitted quick transport from the state to Manhattan.

Census questions

The 1930 census collected the following information:[1]

  • address
  • name
  • relationship to head of family
  • home owned or rented
    • if owned, value of home
    • if rented, monthly rent
  • whether owned a radio set
  • whether on a farm
  • sex
  • race
  • age
  • marital status and, if married, age at first marriage
  • school attendance
  • literacy
  • birthplace of person, and their parents
  • if foreign born:
    • language spoken at home before coming to the U. S.
    • year of immigration
    • whether naturalized
    • ability to speak English
  • occupation, industry and class of worker
  • whether at work previous day (or last regular work day)
  • veteran status
  • if Indian:
    • whether of full or mixed blood
    • tribal affiliation

Full documentation for the 1930 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability

The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in 1949, after which the original sheets were destroyed.[2] The microfilmed census is located on 2,667 rolls of microfilm, and available from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations also host images of the microfilmed census online, and digital indices.

Microdata from the 1930 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.

State rankings

Rank State Population as of
1930 census[3] 		Population as of
1920 census 		Change Percent
change
1  New York 12,588,066 10,385,227 2,202,839 Increase 21.2% Increase
2  Pennsylvania 9,631,350 8,720,017 911,333 Increase 10.5% Increase
3  Illinois 7,630,654 6,485,280 1,145,374 Increase 17.7% Increase
4  Ohio 6,646,697 5,759,394 887,303 Increase 15.4% Increase
5  Texas 5,824,715 4,663,228 1,161,487 Increase 24.9% Increase
6  California 5,677,251 3,426,861 2,250,390 Increase 65.7% Increase
7  Michigan 4,842,325 3,668,412 1,173,913 Increase 32.0% Increase
8  Massachusetts 4,249,614 3,852,356 397,258 Increase 10.3% Increase
9  New Jersey 4,041,334 3,155,900 885,434 Increase 28.1% Increase
10  Missouri 3,629,367 3,404,055 225,312 Increase 6.6% Increase
11  Indiana 3,238,503 2,930,390 308,113 Increase 10.5% Increase
12  North Carolina 3,170,276 2,559,123 611,153 Increase 23.9% Increase
13  Wisconsin 2,939,006 2,632,067 306,939 Increase 11.7% Increase
14  Georgia 2,908,506 2,895,832 12,674 Increase 0.4% Increase
15  Alabama 2,646,248 2,348,174 298,074 Increase 12.7% Increase
16  Tennessee 2,616,556 2,337,885 278,671 Increase 11.9% Increase
17  Kentucky 2,614,589 2,416,630 197,959 Increase 8.2% Increase
18  Minnesota 2,563,953 2,387,125 176,828 Increase 7.4% Increase
19  Iowa 2,470,939 2,404,021 66,918 Increase 2.8% Increase
20  Virginia 2,421,851 2,309,187 112,664 Increase 4.9% Increase
21  Oklahoma 2,396,040 2,028,283 367,757 Increase 18.1% Increase
22  Louisiana 2,101,593 1,798,509 303,084 Increase 16.9% Increase
23  Mississippi 2,009,821 1,790,618 219,203 Increase 12.2% Increase
24  Kansas 1,880,999 1,769,257 111,742 Increase 6.3% Increase
25  Arkansas 1,854,482 1,752,204 102,278 Increase 5.8% Increase
26  South Carolina 1,738,765 1,683,724 55,041 Increase 3.3% Increase
27  West Virginia 1,729,205 1,463,701 265,504 Increase 18.1% Increase
28  Maryland 1,631,526 1,449,661 181,865 Increase 12.5% Increase
29  Connecticut 1,606,903 1,380,631 226,272 Increase 16.4% Increase
30  Washington 1,563,396 1,356,621 206,775 Increase 15.2% Increase
31  Florida 1,468,211 968,470 499,741 Increase 51.6% Increase
32  Nebraska 1,377,963 1,296,372 81,591 Increase 6.3% Increase
33  Colorado 1,035,791 939,629 96,162 Increase 10.2% Increase
34  Oregon 953,786 783,389 170,397 Increase 21.8% Increase
35  Maine 797,423 768,014 29,409 Increase 3.8% Increase
36  South Dakota 692,849 636,547 56,302 Increase 8.8% Increase
37  Rhode Island 687,497 604,397 83,100 Increase 13.7% Increase
38  North Dakota 680,845 646,872 33,973 Increase 5.3% Increase
39  Montana 537,606 548,889 -11,283 Decrease -2.1% Decrease
40  Utah 507,847 449,396 58,451 Increase 13.0% Increase
–  District of Columbia 486,869 437,571 49,298 Increase 11.3% Increase
41  New Hampshire 465,293 443,083 22,210 Increase 5.0% Increase
42  Idaho 445,032 431,866 13,166 Increase 3.0% Increase
43  Arizona 435,573 334,162 101,411 Increase 30.3% Increase
44  New Mexico 423,317 360,350 62,967 Increase 17.5% Increase
–  Hawaii 368,300 255,881 112,419 Increase 43.9% Increase
45  Vermont 359,611 352,428 7,183 Increase 2.0% Increase
46  Delaware 238,380 223,003 15,377 Increase 6.9% Increase
47  Wyoming 225,565 194,402 31,163 Increase 16.0% Increase
48  Nevada 91,058 77,407 13,651 Increase 17.6% Increase
–  Alaska 59,278 55,036 4,242 Increase 7.7% Increase

City rankings

Rank City State Population[4] Region (2016)[5]
01 New York New York 6,930,446 Northeast
02 Chicago Illinois 3,376,438 Midwest
03 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1,950,961 Northeast
04 Detroit Michigan 1,568,662 Midwest
05 Los Angeles California 1,238,048 West
06 Cleveland Ohio 900,429 Midwest
07 St. Louis Missouri 821,960 Midwest
08 Baltimore Maryland 804,874 South
09 Boston Massachusetts 781,188 Northeast
10 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 669,817 Northeast
11 San Francisco California 634,394 West
12 Milwaukee Wisconsin 578,249 Midwest
13 Buffalo New York 573,076 Northeast
14 Washington District of Columbia 486,869 South
15 Minneapolis Minnesota 464,356 Midwest
16 New Orleans Louisiana 458,762 South
17 Cincinnati Ohio 451,160 Midwest
18 Newark New Jersey 442,337 Northeast
19 Kansas City Missouri 399,746 Midwest
20 Seattle Washington 365,583 West
21 Indianapolis Indiana 364,161 Midwest
22 Rochester New York 328,132 Northeast
23 Jersey City New Jersey 316,715 Northeast
24 Louisville Kentucky 307,745 South
25 Portland Oregon 301,815 West
26 Houston Texas 292,352 South
27 Toledo Ohio 290,718 Midwest
28 Columbus Ohio 290,564 Midwest
29 Denver Colorado 287,861 West
30 Oakland California 284,063 West
31 Saint Paul Minnesota 271,606 Midwest
32 Atlanta Georgia 270,366 South
33 Dallas Texas 260,475 South
34 Birmingham Alabama 259,678 South
35 Akron Ohio 255,040 Midwest
36 Memphis Tennessee 253,143 South
37 Providence Rhode Island 252,981 Northeast
38 San Antonio Texas 231,542 South
39 Omaha Nebraska 214,006 Midwest
40 Syracuse New York 209,326 Northeast
41 Dayton Ohio 200,982 Midwest
42 Worcester Massachusetts 195,311 Northeast
43 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 185,389 South
44 Richmond Virginia 182,929 South
45 Youngstown Ohio 170,002 Midwest
46 Grand Rapids Michigan 168,592 Midwest
47 Hartford Connecticut 164,072 Northeast
48 Fort Worth Texas 163,447 South
49 New Haven Connecticut 162,655 Northeast
50 Flint Michigan 156,492 Midwest
51 Nashville Tennessee 153,866 South
52 Springfield Massachusetts 149,900 Northeast
53 San Diego California 147,995 West
54 Bridgeport Connecticut 146,716 Northeast
55 Scranton Pennsylvania 143,433 Northeast
56 Des Moines Iowa 142,559 Midwest
57 Long Beach California 142,032 West
58 Tulsa Oklahoma 141,258 South
59 Salt Lake City Utah 140,267 West
60 Paterson New Jersey 138,513 Northeast
61 Yonkers New York 134,646 Northeast
62 Norfolk Virginia 129,710 South
63 Jacksonville Florida 129,549 South
64 Albany New York 127,412 Northeast
65 Trenton New Jersey 123,356 Northeast
66 Kansas City Kansas 121,857 Midwest
67 Chattanooga Tennessee 119,798 South
68 Camden New Jersey 118,700 Northeast
69 Erie Pennsylvania 115,967 Northeast
70 Spokane Washington 115,514 West
71 Fall River Massachusetts 115,274 Northeast
72 Fort Wayne Indiana 114,946 Midwest
73 Elizabeth New Jersey 114,589 Northeast
74 Cambridge Massachusetts 113,643 Northeast
75 New Bedford Massachusetts 112,597 Northeast
76 Reading Pennsylvania 111,171 Northeast
77 Wichita Kansas 111,110 Midwest
78 Miami Florida 110,637 South
79 Tacoma Washington 106,817 West
80 Wilmington Delaware 106,597 South
81 Knoxville Tennessee 105,802 South
82 Peoria Illinois 104,969 Midwest
83 Canton Ohio 104,906 Midwest
84 South Bend Indiana 104,193 Midwest
85 Somerville Massachusetts 103,908 Northeast
86 El Paso Texas 102,421 South
87 Lynn Massachusetts 102,320 Northeast
88 Evansville Indiana 102,249 Midwest
89 Utica New York 101,740 Northeast
90 Duluth Minnesota 101,463 Midwest
91 Tampa Florida 101,161 South
92 Gary Indiana 100,426 Midwest
93 Lowell Massachusetts 100,234 Northeast
94 Waterbury Connecticut 99,902 Northeast
95 Schenectady New York 95,692 Northeast
96 Sacramento California 93,750 West
97 Allentown Pennsylvania 92,563 Northeast
98 Bayonne New Jersey 88,979 Northeast
99 Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania 86,626 Northeast
100 Rockford Illinois 85,864 Midwest

Locations of 50 most populous cities

class=notpageimage|
Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1930. Not shown: Manila, Philippines.

Notes

  1. ^ "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. p. 45 (p. 51 of PDF). Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  2. ^ The United States National Archives and Records Administration. "FAQs about the 1930 Census". National Archives website. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  3. ^ "1930 Census: Volume 1. Population, Number and Distribution of Inhabitants". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  5. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1930 United States Census.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1930_United_States_census&oldid=1194538789"