1930 United States census

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.

Fifteenth census of the United States
← 1920 April 1, 1930 1940 →
U.S. Census Bureau seal
Population schedule Indian census roll
General information
Country	United States
Results
Total population	122,775,046 ( 13.7%)
Most populous ​state	New York 12,588,066
Least populous ​state	Nevada 91,058

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

City rankings

Rank	City	State	Population[4]	Region (2016)[5]
01	New York	New York	6,930,446	Northeast
02	Chicago	Illinois	3,376,438	Midwest
03	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,950,961	Northeast
04	Detroit	Michigan	1,568,662	Midwest
05	Los Angeles	California	1,238,048	West
06	Cleveland	Ohio	900,429	Midwest
07	St. Louis	Missouri	821,960	Midwest
08	Baltimore	Maryland	804,874	South
09	Boston	Massachusetts	781,188	Northeast
10	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	669,817	Northeast
11	San Francisco	California	634,394	West
12	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	578,249	Midwest
13	Buffalo	New York	573,076	Northeast
14	Washington	District of Columbia	486,869	South
15	Minneapolis	Minnesota	464,356	Midwest
16	New Orleans	Louisiana	458,762	South
17	Cincinnati	Ohio	451,160	Midwest
18	Newark	New Jersey	442,337	Northeast
19	Kansas City	Missouri	399,746	Midwest
20	Seattle	Washington	365,583	West
21	Indianapolis	Indiana	364,161	Midwest
22	Rochester	New York	328,132	Northeast
23	Jersey City	New Jersey	316,715	Northeast
24	Louisville	Kentucky	307,745	South
25	Portland	Oregon	301,815	West
26	Houston	Texas	292,352	South
27	Toledo	Ohio	290,718	Midwest
28	Columbus	Ohio	290,564	Midwest
29	Denver	Colorado	287,861	West
30	Oakland	California	284,063	West
31	Saint Paul	Minnesota	271,606	Midwest
32	Atlanta	Georgia	270,366	South
33	Dallas	Texas	260,475	South
34	Birmingham	Alabama	259,678	South
35	Akron	Ohio	255,040	Midwest
36	Memphis	Tennessee	253,143	South
37	Providence	Rhode Island	252,981	Northeast
38	San Antonio	Texas	231,542	South
39	Omaha	Nebraska	214,006	Midwest
40	Syracuse	New York	209,326	Northeast
41	Dayton	Ohio	200,982	Midwest
42	Worcester	Massachusetts	195,311	Northeast
43	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	185,389	South
44	Richmond	Virginia	182,929	South
45	Youngstown	Ohio	170,002	Midwest
46	Grand Rapids	Michigan	168,592	Midwest
47	Hartford	Connecticut	164,072	Northeast
48	Fort Worth	Texas	163,447	South
49	New Haven	Connecticut	162,655	Northeast
50	Flint	Michigan	156,492	Midwest
51	Nashville	Tennessee	153,866	South
52	Springfield	Massachusetts	149,900	Northeast
53	San Diego	California	147,995	West
54	Bridgeport	Connecticut	146,716	Northeast
55	Scranton	Pennsylvania	143,433	Northeast
56	Des Moines	Iowa	142,559	Midwest
57	Long Beach	California	142,032	West
58	Tulsa	Oklahoma	141,258	South
59	Salt Lake City	Utah	140,267	West
60	Paterson	New Jersey	138,513	Northeast
61	Yonkers	New York	134,646	Northeast
62	Norfolk	Virginia	129,710	South
63	Jacksonville	Florida	129,549	South
64	Albany	New York	127,412	Northeast
65	Trenton	New Jersey	123,356	Northeast
66	Kansas City	Kansas	121,857	Midwest
67	Chattanooga	Tennessee	119,798	South
68	Camden	New Jersey	118,700	Northeast
69	Erie	Pennsylvania	115,967	Northeast
70	Spokane	Washington	115,514	West
71	Fall River	Massachusetts	115,274	Northeast
72	Fort Wayne	Indiana	114,946	Midwest
73	Elizabeth	New Jersey	114,589	Northeast
74	Cambridge	Massachusetts	113,643	Northeast
75	New Bedford	Massachusetts	112,597	Northeast
76	Reading	Pennsylvania	111,171	Northeast
77	Wichita	Kansas	111,110	Midwest
78	Miami	Florida	110,637	South
79	Tacoma	Washington	106,817	West
80	Wilmington	Delaware	106,597	South
81	Knoxville	Tennessee	105,802	South
82	Peoria	Illinois	104,969	Midwest
83	Canton	Ohio	104,906	Midwest
84	South Bend	Indiana	104,193	Midwest
85	Somerville	Massachusetts	103,908	Northeast
86	El Paso	Texas	102,421	South
87	Lynn	Massachusetts	102,320	Northeast
88	Evansville	Indiana	102,249	Midwest
89	Utica	New York	101,740	Northeast
90	Duluth	Minnesota	101,463	Midwest
91	Tampa	Florida	101,161	South
92	Gary	Indiana	100,426	Midwest
93	Lowell	Massachusetts	100,234	Northeast
94	Waterbury	Connecticut	99,902	Northeast
95	Schenectady	New York	95,692	Northeast
96	Sacramento	California	93,750	West
97	Allentown	Pennsylvania	92,563	Northeast
98	Bayonne	New Jersey	88,979	Northeast
99	Wilkes-Barre	Pennsylvania	86,626	Northeast
100	Rockford	Illinois	85,864	Midwest

Locations of 50 most populous cities

New York

Chicago

Philadelphia

Detroit

Los Angeles

Cleveland

St. Louis

Baltimore

Boston

Pittsburgh

San Francisco

Milwaukee

Buffalo

Washington

Minneapolis

New Orleans

Cincinnati

Newark

Kansas City

Seattle

Indianapolis

Rochester

Jersey City

Louisville

Portland

Houston

Toledo

Columbus

Denver

Oakland

Saint Paul

Atlanta

Dallas

Birmingham

Akron

Memphis

Providence

San Antonio

Omaha

Syracuse

Dayton

Worcester

Oklahoma City

Richmond

Youngstown

Grand Rapids

Hartford

Fort Worth

New Haven

Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1930. Not shown: Manila, Philippines.

Notes

1. "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. p. 45 (p. 51 of PDF). Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
2. The United States National Archives and Records Administration. "FAQs about the 1930 Census". National Archives website. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
3. "1930 Census: Volume 1. Population, Number and Distribution of Inhabitants". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
4. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
5. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

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.