1990 United States census

Twenty-first census of the United States

← 1980 April 1, 1990 2000 →

U.S. Census Bureau seal
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population248,709,873 (Increase 9.8%)
Most populous ​stateCalifornia
29,760,021
Least populous ​stateWyoming
453,588

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

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

Reapportionment

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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

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Rank City State Population[5] Region (2016)[6]
01 New York New York 7,322,564 Northeast
02 Los Angeles California 3,485,398 West
03 Chicago Illinois 2,783,726 Midwest
04 Houston Texas 1,630,553 South
05 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1,585,577 Northeast
06 San Diego California 1,110,549 West
07 Detroit Michigan 1,027,974 Midwest
08 Dallas Texas 1,006,877 South
09 Phoenix Arizona 983,403 West
10 San Antonio Texas 935,933 South
11 San Jose California 782,248 West
12 Baltimore Maryland 736,014 South
13 Indianapolis Indiana 731,327 Midwest
14 San Francisco California 723,959 West
15 Jacksonville Florida 635,230 South
16 Columbus Ohio 632,910 Midwest
17 Milwaukee Wisconsin 628,088 Midwest
18 Memphis Tennessee 610,337 South
19 Washington District of Columbia 606,900 South
20 Boston Massachusetts 574,283 Northeast
21 Seattle Washington 516,259 West
22 El Paso Texas 515,342 South
23 Cleveland Ohio 505,616 Midwest
24 New Orleans Louisiana 496,938 South
25 Nashville-Davidson Tennessee 488,374 South
26 Denver Colorado 467,610 West
27 Austin Texas 465,622 South
28 Fort Worth Texas 447,619 South
29 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 444,719 South
30 Portland Oregon 437,319 West
31 Kansas City Missouri 435,146 Midwest
32 Long Beach California 429,433 West
33 Tucson Arizona 405,390 West
34 St. Louis Missouri 396,685 Midwest
35 Charlotte North Carolina 395,934 South
36 Atlanta Georgia 394,017 South
37 Virginia Beach Virginia 393,069 South
38 Albuquerque New Mexico 384,736 West
39 Oakland California 372,242 West
40 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 369,879 Northeast
41 Sacramento California 369,365 West
42 Minneapolis Minnesota 368,383 Midwest
43 Tulsa Oklahoma 367,302 South
44 Honolulu Hawaii 365,272 West
45 Cincinnati Ohio 364,040 Midwest
46 Miami Florida 358,548 South
47 Fresno California 354,202 West
48 Omaha Nebraska 335,795 Midwest
49 Toledo Ohio 332,943 Midwest
50 Buffalo New York 328,123 Northeast
51 Wichita Kansas 304,011 Midwest
52 Santa Ana California 293,742 West
53 Mesa Arizona 288,091 West
54 Colorado Springs Colorado 281,140 West
55 Tampa Florida 280,015 South
56 Newark New Jersey 275,221 Northeast
57 Saint Paul Minnesota 272,235 Midwest
58 Louisville Kentucky 269,063 South
59 Anaheim California 266,406 West
60 Birmingham Alabama 265,968 South
61 Arlington Texas 261,721 South
62 Norfolk Virginia 261,229 South
63 Las Vegas Nevada 258,295 West
64 Corpus Christi Texas 257,453 South
65 St. Petersburg Florida 238,629 South
66 Rochester New York 231,636 Northeast
67 Jersey City New Jersey 228,537 Northeast
68 Riverside California 226,505 West
69 Anchorage Alaska 226,338 West
70 Lexington-Fayette Kentucky 225,366 South
71 Akron Ohio 223,019 Midwest
72 Aurora Colorado 222,103 West
73 Baton Rouge Louisiana 219,531 South
74 Stockton California 210,943 West
75 Raleigh North Carolina 207,951 South
76 Richmond Virginia 203,056 South
77 Shreveport Louisiana 198,525 South
78 Jackson Mississippi 196,637 South
79 Mobile Alabama 196,278 South
80 Des Moines Iowa 193,187 Midwest
81 Lincoln Nebraska 191,972 Midwest
82 Madison Wisconsin 191,262 Midwest
83 Grand Rapids Michigan 189,126 Midwest
84 Yonkers New York 188,082 Northeast
85 Hialeah Florida 188,004 South
86 Montgomery Alabama 187,106 South
87 Lubbock Texas 186,206 South
88 Greensboro North Carolina 183,521 South
89 Dayton Ohio 182,044 Midwest
90 Huntington Beach California 181,519 West
91 Garland Texas 180,650 South
92 Glendale California 180,038 West
93 Columbus Georgia 178,681 South
94 Spokane Washington 177,196 West
95 Tacoma Washington 176,664 West
96 Little Rock Arkansas 175,795 South
97 Bakersfield California 174,820 West
98 Fremont California 173,339 West
99 Fort Wayne Indiana 173,072 Midwest
100 Arlington Virginia 170,936 South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

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References

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  1. ^ "Population and Area (Historical Censuses)" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  2. ^ Brown, Frank Dexter (February 1990). "The 1990 Census: Will Blacks Be Counted Out?". Black Enterprise. 20 (7). Earl G. Graves, Ltd: 195. ISSN 0006-4165. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  3. ^ "The "72-Year Rule" – History". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  4. ^ "1990 Apportionment Results". US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  5. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  6. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
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