1950 United States census explained

Seventeenth census of the United States
Country:	United States
Region Type:	state
Date:	April 1, 1950
Population:	151,325,798
Percent Change:	14.5%
Most Populous:	New York 15,830,192
Least Populous:	Nevada 160,083
Previous Census:	1940 United States census
Previous Year:	1940
Next Census:	1960 United States census
Next Year:	1960

The 1950 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 151,325,798, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census.^[1]

This was the first census in which:

More than one state recorded a population of over 10 million
Every state and territory recorded a population of over 100,000
All 100 largest cities recorded populations of over 100,000

On April 1, 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration released scanned census enumeration sheets to the general public, in accordance with the 72 year rule.

Census questions

The 1950 census collected the following information from all respondents:^[2]

address
whether house is on a farm
name
relationship to head of household
race
sex
age
marital status
birthplace
if foreign born, whether naturalized
employment status
hours worked in week
occupation, industry and class of worker

In addition, a sample of individuals were asked additional questions covering income, marital history, fertility, and other topics. Full documentation on the 1950 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability

Microdata from the 1950 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. All identifiable information in the census became available in April 2022 upon the release of the images taken by the National Archives and Records Administration.^[3]

On April 1, 2022, 72 years after the census was taken, the National Archives and Records Administration released scanned census enumeration sheets to the general public.^[4] The census data was also made freely searchable by name on other websites.^[5] Genealogy companies Ancestry and FamilySearch partnered to use AI and human volunteers to review an index of all names listed on the 1950 census forms.

State rankings

Rank	State	Population as of 1950 census	Population as of 1940 census	Change	Percent change

City rankings

Rank	Population	Region (2016)^[6]
01	7,891,957	Northeast
02	3,620,962	Midwest
03	2,071,605	Northeast
04	1,970,358	West
05	1,849,568	Midwest
06	949,708	South
07	914,808	Midwest
08	856,796	Midwest
09	802,178	South
10	801,444	Northeast
11	775,357	West
12	676,806	Northeast
13	637,392	Midwest
14	596,163	South
15	580,132	Northeast
16	570,445	South
17	521,718	Midwest
18	503,998	Midwest
19	467,591	West
20	456,622	Midwest
21	438,776	Northeast
22	434,462	South
23	427,173	Midwest
24	415,786	West
25	408,442	South
26	396,000	South
27	384,575	West
28	375,901	Midwest
29	373,628	West
30	369,129	South
31	334,387	West
32	332,488	Northeast
33	331,314	South
34	326,037	South
35	311,349	Midwest
36	303,616	Midwest
37	299,017	Northeast
38	278,778	South
39	274,605	Midwest
40	251,117	Midwest
41	250,767	West
42	249,276	South
43	248,674	Northeast
44	243,872	Midwest
45	243,504	South
46	230,310	South
47	220,583	Northeast
48	213,513	South
49	204,517	South
50	203,486	Northeast
51	182,740	South
52	182,121	West
53	177,965	Midwest
54	177,397	Northeast
55	176,515	Midwest
56	174,307	South
57	168,330	Midwest
58	168,279	Midwest
59	164,443	Northeast
60	163,143	Midwest
61	162,399	Northeast
62	161,721	West
63	158,709	Northeast
64	152,798	Northeast
65	143,673	West
66	139,336	Northeast
67	137,572	West
68	135,449	South
69	134,995	Northeast
70	134,042	South
71	133,911	Midwest
72	133,607	Midwest
73	132,459	South
74	131,041	South
75	130,803	Northeast
76	130,485	South
77	129,553	Midwest
78	129,009	South
79	128,636	Midwest
80	128,009	Northeast
81	127,206	South
82	125,629	South
83	125,536	Northeast
84	124,769	South
85	124,681	South
86	124,555	Northeast
87	120,740	Northeast
88	119,638	South
89	116,912	Midwest
90	115,911	Midwest
91	113,805	West
92	112,817	Northeast
93	111,963	Northeast
94	111,856	Midwest
95	110,356	South
96	109,320	Northeast
97	109,189	Northeast
98	108,287	South
99	106,818	West
100	106,756	Northeast

Locations of 50 most populous cities

External links

Historic US Census data
1951 U.S Census Report Contains 1950 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 .
Web site: Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925 . 45 . October 1981 . . December 15, 2008 .
Web site: The "72-Year Rule" – History . United States Census Bureau . October 26, 2015 .
Web site: 1950 Census on Track for 2022 Release, Despite Pandemic . National Archives and Records Administration . April 30, 2021 . January 13, 2022 .
Web site: Free 1950 Census Search . Historic Journals LLC . March 31, 2022 .
Web site: Regions and Divisions . United States 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 .