Mean center of the United States population explained
The mean center of the United States population is determined by the United States Census Bureau from the results of each national census. The Bureau defines it as follows:
After moving roughly 600miles west by south during the 19th century, the shift in the mean center of population during the 20th century was less pronounced, moving 324miles west and 101miles south. Nearly 79% of the overall southerly movement happened between 1950 and 2000.
One occasional confusion is the misconception that the point splits the US population into two equal halves, such that half of Americans live east of the point, and the other half west of it, however, this is actually a property of the median center of US population, which is not weighted by geographic distance and lies in Gibson County, Indiana.
Location information since 1790
| US Census | County | Location description | Decimal coordinates | Distance from previous point |
|---|
| 1790 | Kent County, Maryland | 23 miles east of Baltimore | 39.275°N -76.1867°W | n/a |
| 1800 | Howard County, Maryland | 18 miles west of Baltimore | 39.2683°N -76.9417°W | 52 miles (84 km) |
| 1810 | Loudoun County, Virginia | 40 miles west-northwest of Washington, D.C. | 39.1917°N -77.62°W | 47 miles (75 km) |
| 1820 | Hardy County, West Virginia | 16 miles east of Moorefield | 39.095°N -78.55°W | 64 miles (103 km) |
| 1830 | Grant County, West Virginia | 19 miles west-southwest of Moorefield | 38.965°N -79.2817°W | 51 miles (81 km) |
| 1840 | Upshur County, West Virginia | 16 miles south of Clarksburg | 39.0333°N -80.3°W | 70 miles (113 km) |
| 1850 | Wirt County, West Virginia | 23 miles southeast of Parkersburg | 38.9833°N -81.3167°W | 70 miles (113 km) |
| 1860 | Pike County, Ohio | 20 miles southeast of Chillicothe | 39.0067°N -82.8133°W | 103 miles (166 km) |
| 1870 | Highland County, Ohio | 48 miles northeast of Cincinnati | 39.2°N -83.595°W | 54 miles (87 km) |
| 1880 | Boone County, Kentucky | 8 miles southwest of Cincinnati | 39.0689°N -84.6611°W | 74 miles (119 km) |
| 1890 | Decatur County, Indiana | 20 miles east of Columbus | 39.1989°N -85.5481°W | 61 miles (99 km) |
| 1900 | Bartholomew County, Indiana | 6 miles southeast of Columbus | 39.16°N -85.815°W | 18 miles (30 km) |
| 1910 | Monroe County, Indiana | in the city of Bloomington | 39.17°N -86.5389°W | 50 miles (80 km) |
| 1920 | Owen County, Indiana | 8 miles south-southeast of Spencer | 39.1725°N -86.7208°W | 13 miles (20 km) |
| 1930 | Greene County, Indiana | 3 miles northeast of Linton | 39.0625°N -87.135°W | 29 miles (46 km) |
| 1940 | Sullivan County, Indiana | 2 miles east-southeast of Carlisle | 38.9483°N -87.3764°W | 17 miles (27 km) |
| Richland County, Illinois
Clay County, Illinois | 8 miles north-northwest of Olney
3 miles northeast of Louisville | 38.8392°N -88.1592°W
38.8042°N -88.3689°W | 54 miles (87 km)
69 miles (110 km) |
| 1960 | Clinton County, Illinois | 6.5 miles northwest of Centralia | 38.5994°N -89.2097°W | 58 miles (93 km) |
| 1970 | St. Clair County, Illinois | 5 miles east-southeast of Mascoutah | 38.4631°N -89.7061°W | 34 miles (55 km) |
| 1980 | Jefferson County, Missouri | 0.3 mile west of DeSoto | 38.1369°N -90.5739°W | 60 miles (96 km) |
| 1990 | Crawford County, Missouri | 9.7 miles southeast of Steelville | 37.8722°N -91.2153°W | 44 miles (71 km) |
| 2000 | Phelps County, Missouri | 2.8 miles east of Edgar Springs | 37.697°N -91.8096°W[1] | 41 miles (66 km) |
| 2010 | Texas County, Missouri | 2.7 miles northeast of Plato | 37.5175°N -92.1731°W[2] | 25 miles (40 km) |
| 2020 | Wright County, Missouri | 15 miles northeast of Hartville | 37.4157°N -92.3465°W | 12 miles (19 km) | |
See also
Notes and References
- https://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/cb01cn66.html 2000 U.S. Population Centered in Phelps County, Mo.
- https://www.census.gov/geo/www/2010census/centerpop2010/centerpop2010.html Centers of Population for the 2010 Census
