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1970 United States census

19th United States national census

1970 United States census

19th United States national census

FieldValue
nameNineteenth census
of the United States
logoSeal of the United States Census Bureau.svg
logo_captionU.S. Census Bureau seal
imageUSCensus1970.svg
image_caption1970 U.S. census logo
countryUnited States
region_typestate
dateApril 1, 1970
population203,392,031
percent_change13.4%
most_populousCalifornia
19,953,134
least_populousAlaska
302,173
previous_census1960 United States census
previous_year1960
next_census1980 United States census
next_year1980

of the United States 19,953,134 302,173 The 1970 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 203,392,031, an increase of 13.4 percent over the 179,323,175 persons enumerated during the 1960 census.

This was the first census since 1820 in which New York was not the most populous stateCalifornia overtook it in population in January 1963. This was also the first census in which all states recorded a population of over 300,000, and the first in which a city in the geographic SouthHoustonrecorded a population of over 1 million.

Percentage population change by state since the previous census (1960)

Accurate racial census data was required by both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the 1970 Census changed to identify race on the basis of self-identification rather than by government census enumerators. Virtually all of the key items from the 1960 census were retained.

Data availability

Microdata from the 1970 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. These data were originally created and disseminated by DUALabs. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2042.

State rankings

RankStatePopulation as of
1970 censusPopulation as of
1960 censusChangePercent
change
1California19,953,13415,717,2044,235,93027.0%
2New York18,236,96716,782,3041,454,6638.7%
3Pennsylvania11,793,90911,319,366474,5434.2%
4Texas11,196,7309,579,6771,617,05316.9%
5Illinois11,113,97610,081,1581,032,81810.2%
6Ohio10,652,0179,706,397945,6209.7%
7Michigan8,875,0837,823,1941,051,88913.4%
8New Jersey7,168,1646,066,7821,101,38218.2%
9Florida6,789,4434,951,5601,837,88337.1%
10Massachusetts5,689,1705,148,578540,59210.5%
11Indiana5,193,6694,662,498531,17111.4%
12North Carolina5,082,0594,556,155525,90411.5%
13Missouri4,676,5014,319,813356,6888.3%
14Virginia4,648,4943,966,949681,54517.2%
15Georgia (U.S. state)4,589,5753,943,116646,45916.4%
16Wisconsin4,417,7313,951,777465,95411.8%
17Tennessee3,923,6873,567,089356,59810.0%
18Maryland3,922,3993,100,689821,71026.5%
19Minnesota3,804,9713,413,864391,10711.5%
20Louisiana3,641,3063,257,022384,28411.8%
21Alabama3,444,1653,266,740177,4255.4%
22Washington3,409,1692,853,214555,95519.5%
23Kentucky3,218,7063,038,156180,5505.9%
24Connecticut3,031,7092,535,234496,47519.6%
25Iowa2,824,3762,757,53766,8392.4%
26South Carolina2,590,5162,382,594207,9228.7%
27Oklahoma2,559,2292,328,284230,9459.9%
28Kansas2,246,5782,178,61167,9673.1%
29Mississippi2,216,9122,178,14138,7711.8%
30Colorado2,207,2591,753,947453,31225.8%
31Oregon2,091,5331,768,687322,84618.3%
32Arkansas1,923,2951,786,272137,0237.7%
33Arizona1,745,9441,302,161443,78334.1%
34West Virginia1,744,2371,860,421-116,184-6.2%
35Nebraska1,483,4931,411,33072,1635.1%
36Utah1,059,273890,627168,64618.9%
37New Mexico1,017,055951,02366,0326.9%
38Maine992,048969,26522,7832.4%
39Rhode Island946,725859,48887,23710.1%
40Hawaii769,913632,772137,14121.7%
District of Columbia756,510763,956-7,446-1.0%
41New Hampshire737,681606,921130,76021.5%
42Idaho712,567667,19145,3766.8%
43Montana694,409674,76719,6422.9%
44South Dakota665,507680,514-15,007-2.2%
45North Dakota617,761632,446-14,685-2.3%
46Delaware548,104446,292101,81222.8%
47Nevada488,738285,278203,46071.3%
48Vermont444,330389,88154,44914.0%
49Wyoming332,416330,0662,3500.7%
50Alaska300,382226,16774,21532.8%

City rankings

RankCityStatetitle=Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990date= June 1998first1=Campbelllast1=Gibsonurl=https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/1998/demo/POP-twps0027.htmlpublisher=U.S. Census Bureauurl-status=livearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902055428/http://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/1998/demo/POP-twps0027.htmlarchive-date=September 2, 2017 }}Region (2014)
01New YorkNew York7,894,862Northeast
02ChicagoIllinois3,366,957Midwest
03Los AngelesCalifornia2,816,061West
04PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,948,609Northeast
05DetroitMichigan1,511,482Midwest
06HoustonTexas1,232,802South
07BaltimoreMaryland905,759South
08DallasTexas844,401South
09WashingtonDistrict of Columbia756,510South
10ClevelandOhio750,903Midwest
11IndianapolisIndiana744,624Midwest
12MilwaukeeWisconsin717,099Midwest
13San FranciscoCalifornia715,674West
14San DiegoCalifornia696,769West
15San AntonioTexas654,153South
16BostonMassachusetts641,071Northeast
17MemphisTennessee623,530South
18St. LouisMissouri622,236Midwest
19New OrleansLouisiana593,471South
20PhoenixArizona581,562West
21ColumbusOhio539,677Midwest
22SeattleWashington530,831West
23JacksonvilleFlorida528,865South
24PittsburghPennsylvania520,117Northeast
25DenverColorado514,678West
26Kansas CityMissouri507,087Midwest
27AtlantaGeorgia496,973South
28BuffaloNew York462,768Northeast
29CincinnatiOhio452,524Midwest
30Nashville-DavidsonTennessee448,003South
31San JoseCalifornia445,779West
32MinneapolisMinnesota434,400Midwest
33Fort WorthTexas393,476South
34ToledoOhio383,818Midwest
35PortlandOregon382,619West
36NewarkNew Jersey382,417Northeast
37Oklahoma CityOklahoma366,481South
38OaklandCalifornia361,561West
39LouisvilleKentucky361,472South
40Long BeachCalifornia358,633West
41OmahaNebraska347,328Midwest
42MiamiFlorida334,859South
43TulsaOklahoma331,638South
44HonoluluHawaii324,871West
45El PasoTexas322,261South
46Saint PaulMinnesota309,980Midwest
47NorfolkVirginia307,951South
48BirminghamAlabama300,910South
49RochesterNew York296,233Northeast
50TampaFlorida277,767South
51WichitaKansas276,554Midwest
52AkronOhio275,425Midwest
53TucsonArizona262,933West
54Jersey CityNew Jersey260,545Northeast
55SacramentoCalifornia254,413West
56AustinTexas251,808South
57RichmondVirginia249,621South
58AlbuquerqueNew Mexico243,751West
59DaytonOhio243,601Midwest
60CharlotteNorth Carolina241,178South
61St. PetersburgFlorida216,232South
62Corpus ChristiTexas204,525South
63YonkersNew York204,297Northeast
64Des MoinesIowa200,587Midwest
65Grand RapidsMichigan197,649Midwest
66SyracuseNew York197,208Northeast
67FlintMichigan193,317Midwest
68MobileAlabama190,026South
69ShreveportLouisiana182,064South
70WarrenMichigan179,260Midwest
71ProvidenceRhode Island179,213Northeast
72Fort WayneIndiana177,671Midwest
73WorcesterMassachusetts176,572Northeast
74Salt Lake CityUtah175,885West
75GaryIndiana175,415Midwest
76KnoxvilleTennessee174,587South
77ArlingtonVirginia174,284South
78MadisonWisconsin173,258Midwest
79Virginia BeachVirginia172,106South
80SpokaneWashington170,516West
81Kansas CityKansas168,213Midwest
82AnaheimCalifornia166,701West
83FresnoCalifornia165,972West
84Baton RougeLouisiana165,963South
85SpringfieldMassachusetts163,905Northeast
86HartfordConnecticut158,017Northeast
87Santa AnaCalifornia156,601West
88BridgeportConnecticut156,542Northeast
89TacomaWashington154,581West
90ColumbusGeorgia154,168South
91JacksonMississippi153,968South
92LincolnNebraska149,518Midwest
93LubbockTexas149,101South
94RockfordIllinois147,370Midwest
95PatersonNew Jersey144,824Northeast
96GreensboroNorth Carolina144,076South
97RiversideCalifornia140,089West
98YoungstownOhio139,788Midwest
99Fort LauderdaleFlorida139,590South
100EvansvilleIndiana138,764Midwest

Locations of 50 most populous cities

Conclusions

California took over as the most populous state; New York had previously been ranked number one. While the entire country increased to more than 204 million persons, four states lost population, with West Virginia leading the list, down roughly 7 percent from 1960.

Notes

References

  1. Hephzibah V. Strmic-Paul, Brandon A. Jackson, and Steve Garner, “Race Counts: Racial and Ethnic Data on the U.S. Census and the Implications for Tracking Inequality,” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 4, no. 1 (2018): 1–13.
  2. Goldfield, Edwin D.. (1969). "Relevant Data for Political Science in the 1970 Census". PS: Political Science & Politics.
  3. "The "72-Year Rule" – History".
  4. (June 1998). "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau.
  5. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau.
  6. http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1970/Apollo-13/12303235577467-2/#title "1970 Year in Review, UPI.com". Accessed April 8, 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090523010239/http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1970/Apollo-13/12303235577467-2/ Archived] May 4, 2009.
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