1930 United States census explained

Fifteenth census of the United States
Country:	United States
Region Type:	state
Date:	April 1, 1930
Population:	122,775,046
Percent Change:	13.7%
Most Populous:	New York 12,588,066
Least Populous:	Nevada 91,058
Previous Census:	1920 United States census
Previous Year:	1920
Next Census:	1940 United States census
Next Year:	1940

The 1930 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during the 1920 census.

It was the first time the effects of suburban sprawl were recorded when, during the Roaring Twenties, a significant portion of the working population of New York City moved to New Jersey, aided by the George Washington Bridge which permitted quick transport from the state to Manhattan.

Census questions

The 1930 census collected the following information:^[1]

• address
• name
• relationship to head of family
• home owned or rented
  • if owned, value of home
  • if rented, monthly rent
• whether owned a radio set
• whether on a farm
• sex
• race
• age
• marital status and, if married, age at first marriage
• school attendance
• literacy
• birthplace of person, and their parents
• if foreign born:
  • language spoken at home before coming to the U. S.
  • year of immigration
  • whether naturalized
  • ability to speak English
• occupation, industry and class of worker
• whether at work previous day (or last regular work day)
• veteran status
• if Indian:
  • whether of full or mixed blood
  • tribal affiliation

Full documentation for the 1930 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 1949, after which the original sheets were destroyed.^[2] The microfilmed census is located on 2,667 rolls of microfilm, and available from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations also host images of the microfilmed census online, and digital indices.

Microdata from the 1930 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 1930 census^[3]	Population as of 1920 census	Change	Percent change
1		12,588,066	10,385,227	2,202,839	21.2%
2		9,631,350	8,720,017	911,333	10.5%
3		7,630,654	6,485,280	1,145,374	17.7%
4		6,646,697	5,759,394	887,303	15.4%
5		5,824,715	4,663,228	1,161,487	24.9%
6		5,677,251	3,426,861	2,250,390	65.7%
7		4,842,325	3,668,412	1,173,913	32.0%
8		4,249,614	3,852,356	397,258	10.3%
9		4,041,334	3,155,900	885,434	28.1%
10		3,629,367	3,404,055	225,312	6.6%
11		3,238,503	2,930,390	308,113	10.5%
12		3,170,276	2,559,123	611,153	23.9%
13		2,939,006	2,632,067	306,939	11.7%
14		2,908,506	2,895,832	12,674	0.4%
15		2,646,248	2,348,174	298,074	12.7%
16		2,616,556	2,337,885	278,671	11.9%
17		2,614,589	2,416,630	197,959	8.2%
18		2,563,953	2,387,125	176,828	7.4%
19		2,470,939	2,404,021	66,918	2.8%
20		2,421,851	2,309,187	112,664	4.9%
21		2,396,040	2,028,283	367,757	18.1%
22		2,101,593	1,798,509	303,084	16.9%
23		2,009,821	1,790,618	219,203	12.2%
24		1,880,999	1,769,257	111,742	6.3%
25		1,854,482	1,752,204	102,278	5.8%
26		1,738,765	1,683,724	55,041	3.3%
27		1,729,205	1,463,701	265,504	18.1%
28		1,631,526	1,449,661	181,865	12.5%
29		1,606,903	1,380,631	226,272	16.4%
30		1,563,396	1,356,621	206,775	15.2%
31		1,468,211	968,470	499,741	51.6%
32		1,377,963	1,296,372	81,591	6.3%
33		1,035,791	939,629	96,162	10.2%
34		953,786	783,389	170,397	21.8%
35		797,423	768,014	29,409	3.8%
36		692,849	636,547	56,302	8.8%
37		687,497	604,397	83,100	13.7%
38		680,845	646,872	33,973	5.3%
39		537,606	548,889	-11,283	-2.1%
40		507,847	449,396	58,451	13.0%
-		486,869	437,571	49,298	11.3%
41		465,293	443,083	22,210	5.0%
42		445,032	431,866	13,166	3.0%
43		435,573	334,162	101,411	30.3%
44		423,317	360,350	62,967	17.5%
-		368,300	255,881	112,419	43.9%
45		359,611	352,428	7,183	2.0%
46		238,380	223,003	15,377	6.9%
47		225,565	194,402	31,163	16.0%
48		91,058	77,407	13,651	17.6%
-		59,278	55,036	4,242	7.7%

City rankings

Rank	City	State	Population	Region (2016)^[4]
01			6,930,446	Northeast
02			3,376,438	Midwest
03			1,950,961	Northeast
04			1,568,662	Midwest
05			1,238,048	West
06			900,429	Midwest
07			821,960	Midwest
08			804,874	South
09			781,188	Northeast
10			669,817	Northeast
11			634,394	West
12			578,249	Midwest
13			573,076	Northeast
14			486,869	South
15			464,356	Midwest
16			458,762	South
17			451,160	Midwest
18			442,337	Northeast
19			399,746	Midwest
20			365,583	West
21			364,161	Midwest
22			328,132	Northeast
23			316,715	Northeast
24			307,745	South
25			301,815	West
26			292,352	South
27			290,718	Midwest
28			290,564	Midwest
29			287,861	West
30			284,063	West
31			271,606	Midwest
32			270,366	South
33			260,475	South
34			259,678	South
35			255,040	Midwest
36			253,143	South
37			252,981	Northeast
38			231,542	South
39			214,006	Midwest
40			209,326	Northeast
41			200,982	Midwest
42			195,311	Northeast
43			185,389	South
44			182,929	South
45			170,002	Midwest
46			168,592	Midwest
47			164,072	Northeast
48			163,447	South
49			162,655	Northeast
50			156,492	Midwest
51			153,866	South
52			149,900	Northeast
53			147,995	West
54			146,716	Northeast
55			143,433	Northeast
56			142,559	Midwest
57			142,032	West
58			141,258	South
59			140,267	West
60			138,513	Northeast
61			134,646	Northeast
62			129,710	South
63			129,549	South
64			127,412	Northeast
65			123,356	Northeast
66			121,857	Midwest
67			119,798	South
68			118,700	Northeast
69			115,967	Northeast
70			115,514	West
71			115,274	Northeast
72			114,946	Midwest
73			114,589	Northeast
74			113,643	Northeast
75			112,597	Northeast
76			111,171	Northeast
77			111,110	Midwest
78			110,637	South
79			106,817	West
80			106,597	South
81			105,802	South
82			104,969	Midwest
83			104,906	Midwest
84			104,193	Midwest
85			103,908	Northeast
86			102,421	South
87			102,320	Northeast
88			102,249	Midwest
89			101,740	Northeast
90			101,463	Midwest
91			101,161	South
92			100,426	Midwest
93			100,234	Northeast
94			99,902	Northeast
95			95,692	Northeast
96			93,750	West
97			92,563	Northeast
98			88,979	Northeast
99			86,626	Northeast
100			85,864	Midwest

Locations of 50 most populous cities

External links

• 1930 Census Questions Hosted at CensusFinder.com
• 1931 U.S Census Report Contains 1930 census results
• Historic US Census data
• 1930Census.com: 1930 United States Census for Genealogy & Family History Research
• 1930 Interactive US Census Find stories, photos and more attached to names on the 1930 US census.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925 . 45 (p. 51 of PDF) . October 1981 . . December 15, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090130004637/http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/9643270 . January 30, 2009 . live .
2. Web site: FAQs about the 1930 Census . The United States National Archives and Records Administration . National Archives website . May 17, 2012.
3. Web site: 1930 Census: Volume 1. Population, Number and Distribution of Inhabitants . United States Census Bureau . August 5, 2021 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170526182334/https://census.gov/library/publications/1931/dec/1930a-vol-01-population.html . May 26, 2017 .
4. 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 .