1920 United States Census

Fourteenth Census of the United States
U.S. Census Bureau Seal
200px Population Schedule
General information
Country	United States
Date taken	January 5, 1920
Total population	106,021,537
Percent change	15.0%
Most populous state	New York 10,385,227
Least populous state	Nevada 77,407

The Fourteenth United States Census, 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.

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.

Census questions

The 1920 census collected the following information:

• 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

Rank	State	Population
1	New York	10,385,227
2	Pennsylvania	8,720,017
3	Illinois	6,485,280
4	Ohio	5,759,394
5	Texas	4,663,228
6	Massachusetts	3,852,356
7	Michigan	3,668,412
8	California	3,426,861
9	Missouri	3,404,055
10	New Jersey	3,155,900
11	Indiana	2,930,390
12	Georgia	2,895,832
13	Wisconsin	2,632,067
14	North Carolina	2,559,123
15	Kentucky	2,416,630
16	Iowa	2,404,021
17	Minnesota	2,387,125
18	Alabama	2,348,174
19	Tennessee	2,337,885
20	Virginia	2,309,187
21	Oklahoma	2,028,283
22	Louisiana	1,798,509
23	Mississippi	1,790,618
24	Kansas	1,769,257
25	Arkansas	1,752,204
26	South Carolina	1,683,724
27	West Virginia	1,463,701
28	Maryland	1,449,661
29	Connecticut	1,380,631
30	Washington	1,356,621
31	Nebraska	1,296,372
32	Florida	968,470
33	Colorado	939,629
34	Oregon	783,389
35	Maine	768,014
36	North Dakota	646,872
37	South Dakota	636,547
38	Rhode Island	604,397
39	Montana	548,889
40	Utah	449,396
41	New Hampshire	443,083
x	District of Columbia
42	Idaho	431,866
43	New Mexico	360,350
44	Vermont	352,428
45	Arizona	334,162
46	Delaware	223,003
47	Wyoming	194,402
48	Nevada	77,407

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

Data availability

The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s; after which the original sheets were destroyed. (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.

External links

• 1921 U.S Census Report Contains 1920 Census results
• Historic US Census data
• 1920 Census: 1920 United States Census for Genealogy & Family History Research
• 1920 Census
• [census.gov/population/www/censusdata/PopulationofStatesandCountiesoftheUnitedStates1790-1990.pdf]