Safekipedia1930 United States census
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
The 1930 United States census, carried out by the Census Bureau one month after April 1, 1930, counted 122,775,046 people living in the United States. This was an increase of 13.7 percent compared to the 106,021,537 people counted in the 1920 census.
This census was important because it showed the first signs of people moving to live farther from city centers. During the Roaring Twenties, many workers from New York City moved to nearby New Jersey. This move was easier because of the George Washington Bridge, which made it quicker to travel between the state and Manhattan.
Another big change was that for the first time, a city in the Western United States, Los Angeles, had grown big enough to have at least one million people. This showed how the country was changing and growing during that time.
Census questions
The 1930 census asked people for details such as their address, name, and family relationships. It also asked if they owned or rented their home, whether they had a radio set, and if they lived on a farm.
Other questions covered basic personal details like age, sex, race, and marital status. It asked about education, where people were born, and if they spoke another language at home. Information about jobs, whether they worked recently, and veteran status was also collected. For Native American individuals, questions included tribal affiliation.
Full documentation for the 1930 census is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
Data availability
The papers from the 1930 United States census were recorded onto thin films in 1949. These films are stored on 2,667 rolls and can be seen at the National Archives and Records Administration. Some groups share images of these films online to help people find information.
Details from the 1930 census can be found for free through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Bigger groups of information for smaller places, with maps, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.
State rankings
| Rank | State | Population as of 1930 census | 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
Locations of 50 most populous cities
Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1930. Not shown: Manila, Philippines.
Images
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on 1930 United States census, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.