1940 United States census explained

Sixteenth census of the United States
Country:	United States
Region Type:	state
Population:	132,164,569
Percent Change:	7.6%
Most Populous:	New York 13,479,142
Least Populous:	Nevada 110,247
Previous Census:	1930 United States census
Previous Year:	1930
Next Census:	1950 United States census
Next Year:	1950

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

City rankings

Rank	Population	Region (2016)^[9]
01	7,454,995	Northeast
02	3,396,808	Midwest
03	1,931,334	Northeast
04	1,623,452	Midwest
05	1,504,277	West
06	878,336	Midwest
07	859,100	South
08	816,048	Midwest
09	770,816	Northeast
10	671,659	Northeast
11	663,091	South
12	634,536	West
13	587,472	Midwest
14	575,901	Northeast
15	494,537	South
16	492,370	Midwest
17	455,610	Midwest
18	429,760	Northeast
19	399,178	Midwest
20	386,972	Midwest
21	384,514	South
22	368,302	West
23	324,975	Northeast
24	322,412	West
25	319,077	South
26	306,087	Midwest
27	305,394	West
28	302,288	South
29	302,163	West
30	301,173	Northeast
31	294,734	South
32	292,942	South
33	287,736	Midwest
34	282,349	Midwest
35	267,583	South
36	253,854	South
37	253,504	Northeast
38	244,791	Midwest
39	223,844	Midwest
40	210,718	Midwest
41	205,967	Northeast
42	204,424	South
43	203,341	West
44	193,694	Northeast
45	193,042	South
46	177,662	South
47	173,065	South
48	172,172	South
49	167,720	Midwest
50	167,402	South
51	166,267	Northeast
52	164,292	Midwest
53	164,271	West
54	160,605	Northeast
55	159,819	Midwest
56	151,543	Midwest
57	149,934	West
58	149,554	Northeast
59	147,121	Northeast
60	144,332	South
61	142,598	Northeast
62	142,157	South
63	140,404	Northeast
64	139,656	Northeast
65	130,577	Northeast
66	128,163	South
67	124,697	Northeast
68	122,001	West
69	121,458	Midwest
70	118,410	Midwest
71	117,536	Northeast
72	116,955	Northeast
73	115,428	Northeast
74	114,966	Midwest
75	112,504	South
76	111,719	Midwest
77	111,580	South
78	110,879	Northeast
79	110,568	Northeast
80	110,341	Northeast
81	109,912	Northeast
82	109,408	West
83	108,401	Midwest
84	108,391	South
85	105,958	West
86	105,087	Midwest
87	102,177	Northeast
88	101,389	Northeast
89	101,268	Midwest
90	101,065	Midwest
91	100,899	South
92	100,518	Northeast
93	99,314	Northeast
94	98,167	South
95	98,123	Northeast
96	97,062	Midwest
97	96,904	Northeast
98	96,810	South
99	95,996	South
100	88,039	South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

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."^[10] ^[11] ^[12]

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.

Notes and References

Web site: Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925 . 45 (p. 51 of PDF) . October 1981 . . December 15, 2008 . mdy .
Web site: 1940 Census Update for 16 May 2012: Bad News . The Ancestry Insider . May 16, 2012 . www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com . May 17, 2012.
Web site: Historical Background . US Census Bureau . July 2, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090612232750/http://www.census.gov/mso/www/bkgrnd.htm . June 12, 2009 . dead . mdy .
Web site: 1940 Census . November 26, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070103183106/http://www.1930census.com/1940_census.php . January 3, 2007 . live . mdy .
Web site: Weinstein . Allen . Access to genealogy data at NARA grows . NARA Staff Bulletin . National Archives and Records Administration . Washington DC . April 2008 . July 2, 2009.
Web site: Weinstein . Allen . Finding Out Who You Are: First Stop, National Archives . Prologue magazine, vol. 40, no. 2 . National Archives and Records Administration . Washington DC . Summer 2008 . July 2, 2009.
News: Unlocking a new door to the 1940s – 1940 census details to be released to public . Chicago Tribune . Bill . Daley . March 27, 2012 . March 20, 2012.
Web site: 1940 Census of Population: Volume 1. Number of Inhabitants.
Web site: Regions and Divisions . U.S. Census Bureau . September 9, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161203020637/http://www.census.gov/econ/census/help/geography/regions_and_divisions.html . December 3, 2016 . dead . mdy-all .
https://archive.org/details/japaneseevacuati00dewi Japanese evacuation from the West coast, 1942 : final report
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-the-us-census-b/ Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/26/636107892/some-japanese-americans-wrongfully-imprisoned-during-wwii-oppose-census-question Some Japanese-Americans Wrongfully Imprisoned During WWII Oppose Census Question