1940 United States census

Sixteenth census
of the United States
Sixteenth census; of the United States
	U.S. Census Bureau seal
	Population schedule
General information
Country	United States
Results
Total population	132,164,569 ( 7.6%)
Most populous state	New York ; 13,479,142
Least populous state	Nevada ; 110,247

Last updated September 11, 2024

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

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

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

City rankings

Rank	City	State	Population^[9]	Region (2016) ^[10]
01	New York	New York	7,454,995	Northeast
02	Chicago	Illinois	3,396,808	Midwest
03	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,931,334	Northeast
04	Detroit	Michigan	1,623,452	Midwest
05	Los Angeles	California	1,504,277	West
06	Cleveland	Ohio	878,336	Midwest
07	Baltimore	Maryland	859,100	South
08	St. Louis	Missouri	816,048	Midwest
09	Boston	Massachusetts	770,816	Northeast
10	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	671,659	Northeast
11	Washington	District of Columbia	663,091	South
12	San Francisco	California	634,536	West
13	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	587,472	Midwest
14	Buffalo	New York	575,901	Northeast
15	New Orleans	Louisiana	494,537	South
16	Minneapolis	Minnesota	492,370	Midwest
17	Cincinnati	Ohio	455,610	Midwest
18	Newark	New Jersey	429,760	Northeast
19	Kansas City	Missouri	399,178	Midwest
20	Indianapolis	Indiana	386,972	Midwest
21	Houston	Texas	384,514	South
22	Seattle	Washington	368,302	West
23	Rochester	New York	324,975	Northeast
24	Denver	Colorado	322,412	West
25	Louisville	Kentucky	319,077	South
26	Columbus	Ohio	306,087	Midwest
27	Portland	Oregon	305,394	West
28	Atlanta	Georgia	302,288	South
29	Oakland	California	302,163	West
30	Jersey City	New Jersey	301,173	Northeast
31	Dallas	Texas	294,734	South
32	Memphis	Tennessee	292,942	South
33	Saint Paul	Minnesota	287,736	Midwest
34	Toledo	Ohio	282,349	Midwest
35	Birmingham	Alabama	267,583	South
36	San Antonio	Texas	253,854	South
37	Providence	Rhode Island	253,504	Northeast
38	Akron	Ohio	244,791	Midwest
39	Omaha	Nebraska	223,844	Midwest
40	Dayton	Ohio	210,718	Midwest
41	Syracuse	New York	205,967	Northeast
42	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	204,424	South
43	San Diego	California	203,341	West
44	Worcester	Massachusetts	193,694	Northeast
45	Richmond	Virginia	193,042	South
46	Fort Worth	Texas	177,662	South
47	Jacksonville	Florida	173,065	South
48	Miami	Florida	172,172	South
49	Youngstown	Ohio	167,720	Midwest
50	Nashville	Tennessee	167,402	South
51	Hartford	Connecticut	166,267	Northeast
52	Grand Rapids	Michigan	164,292	Midwest
53	Long Beach	California	164,271	West
54	New Haven	Connecticut	160,605	Northeast
55	Des Moines	Iowa	159,819	Midwest
56	Flint	Michigan	151,543	Midwest
57	Salt Lake City	Utah	149,934	West
58	Springfield	Massachusetts	149,554	Northeast
59	Bridgeport	Connecticut	147,121	Northeast
60	Norfolk	Virginia	144,332	South
61	Yonkers	New York	142,598	Northeast
62	Tulsa	Oklahoma	142,157	South
63	Scranton	Pennsylvania	140,404	Northeast
64	Paterson	New Jersey	139,656	Northeast
65	Albany	New York	130,577	Northeast
66	Chattanooga	Tennessee	128,163	South
67	Trenton	New Jersey	124,697	Northeast
68	Spokane	Washington	122,001	West
69	Kansas City	Kansas	121,458	Midwest
70	Fort Wayne	Indiana	118,410	Midwest
71	Camden	New Jersey	117,536	Northeast
72	Erie	Pennsylvania	116,955	Northeast
73	Fall River	Massachusetts	115,428	Northeast
74	Wichita	Kansas	114,966	Midwest
75	Wilmington	Delaware	112,504	South
76	Gary	Indiana	111,719	Midwest
77	Knoxville	Tennessee	111,580	South
78	Cambridge	Massachusetts	110,879	Northeast
79	Reading	Pennsylvania	110,568	Northeast
80	New Bedford	Massachusetts	110,341	Northeast
81	Elizabeth	New Jersey	109,912	Northeast
82	Tacoma	Washington	109,408	West
83	Canton	Ohio	108,401	Midwest
84	Tampa	Florida	108,391	South
85	Sacramento	California	105,958	West
86	Peoria	Illinois	105,087	Midwest
87	Somerville	Massachusetts	102,177	Northeast
88	Lowell	Massachusetts	101,389	Northeast
89	South Bend	Indiana	101,268	Midwest
90	Duluth	Minnesota	101,065	Midwest
91	Charlotte	North Carolina	100,899	South
92	Utica	New York	100,518	Northeast
93	Waterbury	Connecticut	99,314	Northeast
94	Shreveport	Louisiana	98,167	South
95	Lynn	Massachusetts	98,123	Northeast
96	Evansville	Indiana	97,062	Midwest
97	Allentown	Pennsylvania	96,904	Northeast
98	El Paso	Texas	96,810	South
99	Savannah	Georgia	95,996	South
100	Little Rock	Arkansas	88,039	South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

Chicago

Detroit

Boston

Buffalo

Newark

Houston

Seattle

Denver

Atlanta

Oakland

Jersey City

Dallas

Memphis

Toledo

Akron

Omaha

Dayton

Miami

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]

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References

↑ "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.
↑ The Ancestry Insider (May 16, 2012). "1940 Census Update for 16 May 2012: Bad News". www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
↑ "Historical Background". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
↑ "1940 Census". Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
↑ "1940 Census of Population: Volume 1. Number of Inhabitants".
↑ 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.
↑ Japanese evacuation from the West coast, 1942 : final report, by De Witt, J. L. (John Lesesne), b. 1880; United States. Army. Western Defense Command
↑ Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II
↑ Some Japanese-Americans Wrongfully Imprisoned During WWII Oppose Census Question

External links

Official 1940 census website
1940 Census Records from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
1940 Federal Population Census Videos, training videos for enumerators at the U.S. National Archives
Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Snow, Michael S. (opinion) "Why the huge interest in the 1940 Census?" CNN . Monday April 9, 2012.
1941 U.S Census Report Contains 1940 census results
1940 Census Questions Hosted at CensusFinder.com.

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[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.

[weinstein1-5] 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.

[weinstein2-6] 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".

[census1998-9] 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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