1990 United States census explained

Twenty-first census of the United States
Country:	United States
Region Type:	state
Date:	April 1, 1990
Population:	248,709,873
Percent Change:	9.8%
Most Populous:	California 29,760,021
Least Populous:	Wyoming 453,588
Previous Census:	1980 United States census
Previous Year:	1980
Next Census:	2000 United States census
Next Year:	2000

The 1990 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 census.^[1]

Approximately 16 percent of households received a "long form" of the 1990 census, which contained more than 100 questions. Full documentation on the 1990 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

It was the first census to designate "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" as a racial group separate from Asians. The census was also the first census to be directed by a woman, Barbara Everitt Bryant.

To increase black participation in the 1990 United States census, the bureau recruited Bill Cosby, Magic Johnson, Alfre Woodard, and Miss America Debbye Turner as spokespeople.^[2] 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. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2062.^[3]

This was the first census since 1880 in which Chicago was not the second-largest city, having been overtaken by Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, Los Angeles has remained the nation's second-largest city.

State rankings

Population and population change in the United States by state
Rank	State	Population as of 1990 census	Population as of 1980 census	Change	Percent change
1	align=left		29,760,021	23,667,902	6,092,119	25.7%
2	align=left		17,990,455	17,558,072	432,383	2.5%
3	align=left		16,986,510	14,229,191	2,757,319	19.4%
4	align=left		12,937,926	9,746,324	3,191,602	32.7%
5	align=left		11,881,643	11,863,895	17,748	0.2%
6	align=left		11,430,602	11,426,518	4,084	0.0%
7	align=left		10,847,115	10,797,630	49,485	0.4%
8	align=left		9,295,297	9,262,078	33,219	0.4%
9	align=left		7,730,188	7,364,823	365,365	5.0%
10	align=left		6,628,637	5,881,766	746,871	12.7%
11	align=left		6,478,216	5,463,105	1,015,111	18.6%
12	align=left		6,187,358	5,346,818	840,540	15.7%
13	align=left		6,016,425	5,737,037	279,388	4.9%
14	align=left		5,544,159	5,490,224	53,935	1.0%
15	align=left		5,117,073	4,916,686	200,387	4.1%
16	align=left		4,891,769	4,705,767	186,002	3.9%
17	align=left		4,877,185	4,591,120	286,065	6.2%
18	align=left		4,866,692	4,132,156	734,536	17.8%
19	align=left		4,781,468	4,216,975	564,493	13.4%
20	align=left		4,375,099	4,075,970	299,129	7.3%
21	align=left		4,219,973	4,205,900	14,073	0.3%
22	align=left		4,040,587	3,893,888	146,699	3.8%
23	align=left		3,685,296	3,660,777	24,519	0.7%
24	align=left		3,665,228	2,718,215	947,013	34.8%
25	align=left		3,486,703	3,121,820	364,883	11.7%
26	align=left		3,294,394	2,889,964	404,430	14.0%
27	align=left		3,287,116	3,107,576	179,540	5.8%
28	align=left		3,145,585	3,025,290	120,295	4.0%
29	align=left		2,842,321	2,633,105	209,216	7.9%
30	align=left		2,776,755	2,913,808	–137,053	–4.7%
31	align=left		2,573,216	2,520,638	52,578	2.1%
32	align=left		2,477,574	2,363,679	113,895	4.8%
33	align=left		2,350,725	2,286,435	64,290	2.8%
34	align=left		1,793,477	1,949,644	–156,167	–8.0%
35	align=left		1,722,850	1,461,037	261,813	17.9%
36	align=left		1,578,385	1,569,825	8,560	0.5%
37	align=left		1,515,069	1,302,894	212,175	16.3%
38	align=left		1,227,928	1,124,660	103,268	9.2%
39	align=left		1,201,833	800,493	401,340	50.1%
40	align=left		1,109,252	920,610	188,642	20.5%
41	align=left		1,108,229	964,691	143,538	14.8%
42	align=left		1,006,749	943,935	62,814	6.7%
43	align=left		1,003,464	947,154	56,310	5.9%
44	align=left		799,065	786,690	12,375	1.6%
45	align=left		696,004	690,768	5,236	0.8%
46	align=left		666,168	594,338	71,830	12.1%
47	align=left		638,800	652,717	–13,917	–2.1%
—	align=left		606,900	638,333	–31,433	–4.9%
48	align=left		562,758	511,456	51,302	10.0%
49	align=left		550,043	401,851	148,192	36.8%
50	align=left		453,588	469,557	–15,969	–3.4%
	align=left	United States	248,709,873	226,545,805	22,164,068	9.8%

Reapportionment

The results of the 1990 census determined the number of seats that each state receives in the United States House of Representatives starting with the 1992 elections. Consequently, this affected the number of votes each state has in the Electoral College for the 1992 presidential election.

Because of population changes, twenty-one states had changes in their number of seats. Eight states gained at least one seat, and thirteen states lost at least one seat. The final result involved 19 seats being switched.^[4]

Gained seven seats		Gained four seats		Gained three seats		Gained one seat		Lost one seat		Lost two seats		Lost three seats
California	Florida	Texas	Arizona Georgia North Carolina Virginia Washington	Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Montana New Jersey West Virginia	Illinois Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania	New York

City rankings

Rank	Population	Region (2016)^[5]
01	7,322,564	Northeast
02	3,485,398	West
03	2,783,726	Midwest
04	1,630,553	South
05	1,585,577	Northeast
06	1,110,549	West
07	1,027,974	Midwest
08	1,006,877	South
09	983,403	West
10	935,933	South
11	782,248	West
12	736,014	South
13	731,327	Midwest
14	723,959	West
15	635,230	South
16	632,910	Midwest
17	628,088	Midwest
18	610,337	South
19	606,900	South
20	574,283	Northeast
21	516,259	West
22	515,342	South
23	505,616	Midwest
24	496,938	South
25	488,374	South
26	467,610	West
27	465,622	South
28	447,619	South
29	444,719	South
30	437,319	West
31	435,146	Midwest
32	429,433	West
33	405,390	West
34	396,685	Midwest
35	395,934	South
36	394,017	South
37	393,069	South
38	384,736	West
39	372,242	West
40	369,879	Northeast
41	369,365	West
42	368,383	Midwest
43	367,302	South
44	365,272	West
45	364,040	Midwest
46	358,548	South
47	354,202	West
48	335,795	Midwest
49	332,943	Midwest
50	328,123	Northeast
51	304,011	Midwest
52	293,742	West
53	288,091	West
54	281,140	West
55	280,015	South
56	275,221	Northeast
57	272,235	Midwest
58	269,063	South
59	266,406	West
60	265,968	South
61	261,721	South
62	261,229	South
63	258,295	West
64	257,453	South
65	238,629	South
66	231,636	Northeast
67	228,537	Northeast
68	226,505	West
69	226,338	West
70	225,366	South
71	223,019	Midwest
72	222,103	West
73	219,531	South
74	210,943	West
75	207,951	South
76	203,056	South
77	198,525	South
78	196,637	South
79	196,278	South
80	193,187	Midwest
81	191,972	Midwest
82	191,262	Midwest
83	189,126	Midwest
84	188,082	Northeast
85	188,004	South
86	187,106	South
87	186,206	South
88	183,521	South
89	182,044	Midwest
90	181,519	West
91	180,650	South
92	180,038	West
93	178,681	South
94	177,196	West
95	176,664	West
96	175,795	South
97	174,820	West
98	173,339	West
99	173,072	Midwest
100	170,936	South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

External links

U.S. Census Bureau 1990 Census page
Historic US Census data
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1990 Contains 1990 census results
Booknotes interview with Sam Roberts on Who We Are: A Portrait of America, June 19, 1994.
1991 U.S Census Report (contains 1990 census results)

Notes and References

Web site: Population and Area (Historical Censuses) . United States Census Bureau . June 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080624185938/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1991-02.pdf . June 24, 2008 . live .
Brown. Frank Dexter. The 1990 Census: Will Blacks Be Counted Out?. Black Enterprise. February 1990. 20. 7. July 29, 2011. 195. Earl G. Graves, Ltd. 0006-4165.
Web site: The "72-Year Rule" – History . U.S. Census Bureau . October 26, 2015 .
News: 1990 Apportionment Results. US Census Bureau. October 26, 2016.
Web site: Regions and Divisions . U.S. Census Bureau . September 9, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161203020637/http://www.census.gov/econ/census/help/geography/regions_and_divisions.html . December 3, 2016 .