The United States census of 1900, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census.
The census saw the nation’s largest city, New York City, more than double in size due to the consolidation with Brooklyn, becoming in the process the first U.S. city to record a population growth of over three million.
Census questions
The 1900 census collected the following information:
- address
- name
- relationship to head of family
- sex
- race (listed as “Color or race” on the census)
- age, month and year born
- marital status and, if married, number of years married
- for women, number of children born and number now living
- place of birth of person, and their parents
- if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized
- occupation
- months not employed
- school
- ability to speak English
- whether on a farm farmer
- home owned or rented, and, if owned, whether mortgaged
Full documentation for the 1900 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 the 1940s, after which the original sheets were destroyed. 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 1900 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 1900 census |
Population as of 1890 census |
Change | Percent change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7,268,894 | 5,997,853 | 1,271,041 |
21.2% |
|
| 2 | 6,302,115 | 5,258,113 | 1,044,002 |
19.9% |
|
| 3 | 4,821,550 | 3,826,352 | 995,198 |
26.0% |
|
| 4 | 4,157,545 | 3,672,329 | 485,216 |
13.2% |
|
| 5 | 3,106,665 | 2,679,185 | 427,480 |
16.0% |
|
| 6 | 3,048,710 | 2,235,527 | 813,183 |
36.4% |
|
| 7 | 2,805,346 | 2,238,947 | 566,399 |
25.3% |
|
| 8 | 2,516,462 | 2,192,404 | 324,058 |
14.8% |
|
| 9 | 2,420,982 | 2,093,890 | 327,092 |
15.6% |
|
| 10 | 2,231,853 | 1,912,297 | 319,556 |
16.7% |
|
| 11 | 2,216,331 | 1,837,353 | 378,978 |
20.6% |
|
| 12 | 2,147,174 | 1,858,635 | 288,539 |
15.5% |
|
| 13 | 2,069,042 | 1,693,330 | 375,712 |
22.2% |
|
| 14 | 2,020,616 | 1,767,518 | 253,098 |
14.3% |
|
| 15 | 1,893,810 | 1,617,949 | 275,861 |
17.1% |
|
| 16 | 1,883,669 | 1,444,933 | 438,736 |
30.4% |
|
| 17 | 1,854,184 | 1,655,980 | 198,204 |
12.0% |
|
| 18 | 1,828,697 | 1,513,401 | 315,296 |
20.8% |
|
| 19 | 1,751,394 | 1,310,283 | 441,111 |
33.7% |
|
| 20 | 1,551,270 | 1,289,600 | 261,670 |
20.3% |
|
| 21 | 1,485,053 | 1,213,398 | 271,655 |
22.4% |
|
| 22 | 1,470,495 | 1,428,108 | 42,387 |
3.0% |
|
| 23 | 1,381,625 | 1,118,588 | 263,037 |
23.5% |
|
| 24 | 1,340,316 | 1,151,149 | 189,167 |
16.4% |
|
| 25 | 1,311,564 | 1,128,211 | 183,353 |
16.3% |
|
| 26 | 1,188,044 | 1,042,390 | 145,654 |
14.0% |
|
| 27 | 1,066,300 | 1,062,656 | 3,644 |
0.3% |
|
| 28 | 958,800 | 762,794 | 196,006 |
25.7% |
|
| 29 | 908,420 | 746,258 | 162,162 |
21.7% |
|
| – | 790,391 | 258,657 | 531,734 |
205.6% |
|
| 30 | 694,466 | 661,086 | 33,380 |
5.0% |
|
| 31 | 539,700 | 413,249 | 126,451 |
30.6% |
|
| 32 | 528,542 | 391,422 | 137,120 |
35.0% |
|
| 33 | 518,103 | 357,232 | 160,871 |
45.0% |
|
| 34 | 428,556 | 345,506 | 83,050 |
24.0% |
|
| 35 | 413,536 | 317,704 | 95,832 |
30.2% |
|
| 36 | 411,588 | 376,530 | 35,058 |
9.3% |
|
| 37 | 401,570 | 348,600 | 52,970 |
15.2% |
|
| 38 | 343,641 | 332,422 | 11,219 |
3.4% |
|
| 39 | 319,146 | 190,983 | 128,163 |
67.1% |
|
| – | 278,718 | 230,392 | 48,326 |
21.0% |
|
| 40 | 276,749 | 210,779 | 65,970 |
31.3% |
|
| 41 | 243,329 | 142,924 | 100,405 |
70.3% |
|
| – | 195,310 | 160,282 | 35,028 |
21.9% |
|
| 42 | 184,735 | 168,493 | 16,242 |
9.6% |
|
| 43 | 161,772 | 88,548 | 73,224 |
82.7% |
|
| – | 154,001 | – | – | – | |
| – | 122,931 | 88,243 | 34,688 |
39.3% |
|
| 44 | 92,531 | 62,555 | 29,976 |
47.9% |
|
| – | 63,592 | 32,052 | 31,540 |
98.4% |
|
| 45 | 42,335 | 47,355 | -5,020 |
-10.6% |
|
| 76,212,168 | 62,979,766 | 13,232,402 |
21.0% |
City rankings
| Rank | City | State | Population | Region (2016) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | New York | New York | 3,437,202 | Northeast |
| 02 | Chicago | Illinois | 1,698,575 | Midwest |
| 03 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1,293,697 | Northeast |
| 04 | St. Louis | Missouri | 575,238 | Midwest |
| 05 | Boston | Massachusetts | 560,892 | Northeast |
| 06 | Baltimore | Maryland | 508,957 | South |
| 07 | Cleveland | Ohio | 391,768 | Midwest |
| 08 | Buffalo | New York | 352,387 | Northeast |
| 09 | San Francisco | California | 342,782 | West |
| 10 | Cincinnati | Ohio | 325,902 | Midwest |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 321,616 | Northeast |
| 12 | New Orleans | Louisiana | 287,104 | South |
| 13 | Detroit | Michigan | 285,704 | Midwest |
| 14 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | 285,315 | Midwest |
| 15 | Washington | District of Columbia | 278,718 | South |
| 16 | Newark | New Jersey | 246,070 | Northeast |
| 17 | Jersey City | New Jersey | 206,433 | Northeast |
| 18 | Louisville | Kentucky | 204,731 | South |
| 19 | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 202,718 | Midwest |
| 20 | Providence | Rhode Island | 175,597 | Northeast |
| 21 | Indianapolis | Indiana | 169,164 | Midwest |
| 22 | Kansas City | Missouri | 163,752 | Midwest |
| 23 | Saint Paul | Minnesota | 163,065 | Midwest |
| 24 | Rochester | New York | 162,608 | Northeast |
| 25 | Denver | Colorado | 133,859 | West |
| 26 | Toledo | Ohio | 131,822 | Midwest |
| 27 | Allegheny | Pennsylvania | 129,896 | Northeast |
| 28 | Columbus | Ohio | 125,560 | Midwest |
| 29 | Worcester | Massachusetts | 118,421 | Northeast |
| 30 | Syracuse | New York | 108,374 | Northeast |
| 31 | New Haven | Connecticut | 108,027 | Northeast |
| 32 | Paterson | New Jersey | 105,171 | Northeast |
| 33 | Fall River | Massachusetts | 104,863 | Northeast |
| 34 | St. Joseph | Missouri | 102,979 | Midwest |
| 35 | Omaha | Nebraska | 102,555 | Midwest |
| 36 | Los Angeles | California | 102,479 | West |
| 37 | Memphis | Tennessee | 102,320 | South |
| 38 | Scranton | Pennsylvania | 102,026 | Northeast |
| 39 | Lowell | Massachusetts | 94,969 | Northeast |
| 40 | Albany | New York | 94,151 | Northeast |
| 41 | Cambridge | Massachusetts | 91,886 | Northeast |
| 42 | Portland | Oregon | 90,426 | West |
| 43 | Atlanta | Georgia | 89,872 | South |
| 44 | Grand Rapids | Michigan | 87,565 | Midwest |
| 45 | Dayton | Ohio | 85,333 | Midwest |
| 46 | Richmond | Virginia | 85,050 | South |
| 47 | Nashville | Tennessee | 80,865 | South |
| 48 | Seattle | Washington | 80,671 | West |
| 49 | Hartford | Connecticut | 79,850 | Northeast |
| 50 | Reading | Pennsylvania | 78,961 | Northeast |
| 51 | Wilmington | Delaware | 76,508 | South |
| 52 | Camden | New Jersey | 75,935 | Northeast |
| 53 | Trenton | New Jersey | 73,307 | Northeast |
| 54 | Bridgeport | Connecticut | 70,996 | Northeast |
| 55 | Lynn | Massachusetts | 68,513 | Northeast |
| 56 | Oakland | California | 66,960 | West |
| 57 | Lawrence | Massachusetts | 62,559 | Northeast |
| 58 | New Bedford | Massachusetts | 62,442 | Northeast |
| 59 | Des Moines | Iowa | 62,139 | Midwest |
| 60 | Springfield | Massachusetts | 62,059 | Northeast |
| 61 | Somerville | Massachusetts | 61,643 | Northeast |
| 62 | Troy | New York | 60,651 | Northeast |
| 63 | Hoboken | New Jersey | 59,364 | Northeast |
| 64 | Evansville | Indiana | 59,007 | Midwest |
| 65 | Manchester | New Hampshire | 56,987 | Northeast |
| 66 | Utica | New York | 56,383 | Northeast |
| 67 | Peoria | Illinois | 56,100 | Midwest |
| 68 | Charleston | South Carolina | 55,807 | South |
| 69 | Savannah | Georgia | 54,244 | South |
| 70 | Salt Lake City | Utah | 53,531 | West |
| 71 | San Antonio | Texas | 53,321 | South |
| 72 | Duluth | Minnesota | 52,969 | Midwest |
| 73 | Erie | Pennsylvania | 52,733 | Northeast |
| 74 | Elizabeth | New Jersey | 52,130 | Northeast |
| 75 | Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania | 51,721 | Northeast |
| 76 | Kansas City | Kansas | 51,418 | Midwest |
| 77 | Harrisburg | Pennsylvania | 50,167 | Northeast |
| 78 | Portland | Maine | 50,145 | Northeast |
| 79 | Yonkers | New York | 47,931 | Northeast |
| 80 | Norfolk | Virginia | 46,624 | South |
| 81 | Waterbury | Connecticut | 45,859 | Northeast |
| 82 | Holyoke | Massachusetts | 45,712 | Northeast |
| 83 | Fort Wayne | Indiana | 45,115 | Midwest |
| 84 | Youngstown | Ohio | 44,885 | Midwest |
| 85 | Houston | Texas | 44,633 | South |
| 86 | Covington | Kentucky | 42,938 | South |
| 87 | Akron | Ohio | 42,728 | Midwest |
| 88 | Dallas | Texas | 42,638 | South |
| 89 | Saginaw | Michigan | 42,345 | Midwest |
| 90 | Lancaster | Pennsylvania | 41,459 | Northeast |
| 91 | Lincoln | Nebraska | 40,169 | Midwest |
| 92 | Brockton | Massachusetts | 40,063 | Northeast |
| 93 | Binghamton | New York | 39,647 | Northeast |
| 94 | Augusta | Georgia | 39,441 | South |
| 95 | Pawtucket | Rhode Island | 39,231 | Northeast |
| 96 | Altoona | Pennsylvania | 38,973 | Northeast |
| 97 | Wheeling | West Virginia | 38,878 | South |
| 98 | Mobile | Alabama | 38,469 | South |
| 99 | Birmingham | Alabama | 38,415 | South |
| 100 | Little Rock | Arkansas | 38,307 | South |
