1950 United States Census

The Seventeenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 150,697,361, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 Census.

Census questions

The 1950 census collected the following information from all respondents:

• 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. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2022.

State rankings

1950 U.S. State Population Rankings

Rank	State	Population
1	New York	14,830,192
2	California	10,586,223
3	Pennsylvania	10,498,012
4	Illinois	8,712,176
5	Ohio	7,946,627
6	Texas	7,748,000
7	Michigan	6,421,000
8	New Jersey	4,860,000
9	Massachusetts	4,690,000
10	North Carolina	4,060,000
11	Indiana	3,952,000
12	Missouri	3,946,000
13	Georgia	3,451,000
14	Wisconsin	3,449,000
15	Tennessee	3,304,000
16	Virginia	3,262,000
17	Alabama	3,060,000
18	Minnesota	2,995,000
19	Kentucky	2,957,000
20	Florida	2,821,000
21	Louisiana	2,701,000
22	Iowa	2,621,000
23	Washington	2,386,000
24	Maryland	2,376,000
25	Oklahoma	2,193,000
26	Mississippi	2,169,000
27	South Carolina	2,119,000
28	Connecticut	2,007,280
29	West Virginia	2,006,000
30	Kansas	1,915,000
31	Arkansas	1,906,000
32	Oregon	1,532,000
33	Colorado	1,337,000
34	Nebraska	1,324,000
35	Maine	911,000
x	District of Columbia	814,000
36	Rhode Island	779,000
37	Arizona	756,000
38	Utah	696,000
39	New Mexico	687,000
40	South Dakota	652,000
41	North Dakota	616,000
42	Montana	598,000
43	Idaho	592,000
44	New Hampshire	531,000
x	Hawaii	491,000
45	Vermont	377,000
46	Delaware	321,000
47	Wyoming	292,000
48	Nevada	162,000
x	Alaska	138,000

City rankings

1950 U.S. City Population Rankings

Rank	City	State	Population
1	New York	New York	7,891,957
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,620,962
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	2,071,605
4	Los Angeles	California	1,970,358
5	Detroit	Michigan	1,849,568
6	Baltimore	Maryland	949,708
7	Cleveland	Ohio	914,808
8	St. Louis	Missouri	856,796
9	Washington	District of Columbia	802,178
10	Boston	Massachusetts	801,444
11	San Francisco	California	775,357
12	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	676,806
13	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	637,392
14	Houston	Texas	596,163
15	Buffalo	New York	580,132
16	New Orleans	Louisiana	570,445
17	Minneapolis	Minnesota	521,718
18	Cincinnati	Ohio	503,998
19	Seattle	Washington	467,591
20	Kansas City	Missouri	456,622

External links

• Historic US Census data
• 1951 U.S Census Report Contains 1950 Census results