1960 United States census

Eighteenth census
of the United States
← 1950 April 1, 1960 1970 →
U.S. Census Bureau seal
1960 U.S. census logo
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population179,323,175 (Increase 19%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
16,782,304
Least populous ​stateAlaska
226,167

The 1960 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 179,323,175, an increase of 19 percent over the 151,325,798 persons enumerated during the 1950 census. This was the first census in which all states recorded a population of over 200,000. This census's data determined the electoral votes for the 1964 and 1968 presidential elections. This was also the last census in which New York was the most populous state.

Census questions

The 1960 census collected the following information from all respondents:[1]

  • address
  • name
  • relationship to head of household
  • sex
  • race
  • age
  • marital status

Approximately 25 percent of households received a "long form" of the 1960 census, which contained over 100 questions. Full documentation on the 1960 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability

Microdata from the 1960 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 2032.[2]

State rankings

A map showing the population change of each US State by percentage.


Rank State Population as of
1960 census 		Population as of
1950 census 		Change Percent
change
1  New York 16,782,304 14,830,192 1,952,112 Increase 13.2% Increase
2  California 15,717,204 10,586,223 5,130,981 Increase 48.5% Increase
3  Pennsylvania 11,319,366 10,498,012 821,354 Increase 7.8% Increase
4  Illinois 10,081,158 8,712,176 1,368,982 Increase 15.7% Increase
5  Ohio 9,706,397 7,946,627 1,759,770 Increase 22.1% Increase
6  Texas 9,579,677 7,711,194 1,868,483 Increase 24.2% Increase
7  Michigan 7,823,194 6,371,766 1,451,428 Increase 22.8% Increase
8  New Jersey 6,066,782 4,835,329 1,231,453 Increase 25.5% Increase
9  Massachusetts 5,148,578 4,690,514 458,064 Increase 9.8% Increase
10  Florida 4,951,560 2,771,305 2,180,255 Increase 78.7% Increase
11  Indiana 4,662,498 3,934,224 728,274 Increase 18.5% Increase
12  North Carolina 4,556,155 4,061,929 494,226 Increase 12.2% Increase
13  Missouri 4,319,813 3,954,653 365,160 Increase 9.2% Increase
14  Virginia 3,966,949 3,318,680 648,269 Increase 19.5% Increase
15  Wisconsin 3,951,777 3,434,575 517,202 Increase 15.1% Increase
16  Georgia 3,943,116 3,444,578 498,538 Increase 14.5% Increase
17  Tennessee 3,567,089 3,291,718 275,371 Increase 8.4% Increase
18  Minnesota 3,413,864 2,982,483 431,381 Increase 14.5% Increase
19  Alabama 3,266,740 3,061,743 204,997 Increase 6.7% Increase
20  Louisiana 3,257,022 2,683,516 573,506 Increase 21.4% Increase
21  Maryland 3,100,689 2,343,001 757,688 Increase 32.3% Increase
22  Kentucky 3,038,156 2,944,806 93,350 Increase 3.2% Increase
23  Washington 2,853,214 2,378,963 474,251 Increase 19.9% Increase
24  Iowa 2,757,537 2,621,073 136,464 Increase 5.2% Increase
25  Connecticut 2,535,234 2,007,280 527,954 Increase 26.3% Increase
26  South Carolina 2,382,594 2,117,027 265,567 Increase 12.5% Increase
27  Oklahoma 2,328,284 2,233,351 94,933 Increase 4.3% Increase
28  Kansas 2,178,611 1,905,299 273,312 Increase 14.3% Increase
29  Mississippi 2,178,141 2,178,914 −773 Decrease −0.0% Decrease
30  West Virginia 1,860,421 2,005,552 −145,131 Decrease −7.2% Decrease
31  Arkansas 1,786,272 1,909,511 −123,239 Decrease −6.5% Decrease
32  Oregon 1,768,687 1,521,341 247,346 Increase 16.3% Increase
33  Colorado 1,753,947 1,325,089 428,858 Increase 32.4% Increase
34 Nebraska 1,411,330 1,325,510 85,820 Increase 6.5% Increase
35  Arizona 1,302,161 749,587 552,574 Increase 73.7% Increase
36  Maine 969,265 913,774 55,491 Increase 6.1% Increase
37  New Mexico 951,023 681,187 269,836 Increase 39.6% Increase
38  Utah 890,627 688,862 201,765 Increase 29.3% Increase
39  Rhode Island 859,488 791,896 67,592 Increase 8.5% Increase
—  District of Columbia 763,956 802,178 −38,222 Decrease −4.8% Decrease
40  South Dakota 680,514 652,740 27,774 Increase 4.3% Increase
41  Montana 674,767 591,024 83,743 Increase 14.2% Increase
42  Idaho 667,191 588,637 78,554 Increase 13.3% Increase
43  Hawaii 632,772 499,794 132,978 Increase 26.6% Increase
44  North Dakota 632,446 619,636 12,810 Increase 2.1% Increase
45  New Hampshire 606,921 533,242 73,679 Increase 13.8% Increase
46  Delaware 446,292 318,085 128,207 Increase 40.3% Increase
47  Vermont 389,881 377,747 12,134 Increase 3.2% Increase
48  Wyoming 330,066 290,529 39,537 Increase 13.6% Increase
49  Nevada 285,278 160,083 125,195 Increase 78.2% Increase
50  Alaska 226,167 128,643 97,524 Increase 75.8% Increase
—  United States 179,323,175 151,325,798 27,997,377 Increase 18.5% Increase

City rankings

Rank City State Population[3] Region (2016)[4]
01 New York New York 7,781,984 Northeast
02 Chicago Illinois 3,550,404 Midwest
03 Los Angeles California 2,479,015 West
04 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2,002,512 Northeast
05 Detroit Michigan 1,670,144 Midwest
06 Baltimore Maryland 939,024 South
07 Houston Texas 938,219 South
08 Cleveland Ohio 876,050 Midwest
09 Washington District of Columbia 763,956 South
10 St. Louis Missouri 750,026 Midwest
11 Milwaukee Wisconsin 741,324 Midwest
12 San Francisco California 740,316 West
13 Boston Massachusetts 697,197 Northeast
14 Dallas Texas 679,684 South
15 New Orleans Louisiana 627,525 South
16 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 604,332 Northeast
17 San Antonio Texas 587,718 South
18 San Diego California 573,224 West
19 Seattle Washington 557,087 West
20 Buffalo New York 532,759 Northeast
21 Cincinnati Ohio 502,550 Midwest
22 Memphis Tennessee 497,524 South
23 Denver Colorado 493,887 West
24 Atlanta Georgia 487,455 South
25 Minneapolis Minnesota 482,872 Midwest
26 Indianapolis Indiana 476,258 Midwest
27 Kansas City Missouri 475,539 Midwest
28 Columbus Ohio 471,316 Midwest
29 Phoenix Arizona 439,170 West
30 Newark New Jersey 405,220 Northeast
31 Louisville Kentucky 390,639 South
32 Portland Oregon 372,676 West
33 Oakland California 367,548 West
34 Fort Worth Texas 356,268 South
35 Long Beach California 344,168 West
36 Birmingham Alabama 340,887 South
37 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 324,253 South
38 Rochester New York 318,611 Northeast
39 Toledo Ohio 318,003 Midwest
40 Saint Paul Minnesota 313,411 Midwest
41 Norfolk Virginia 305,872 South
42 Omaha Nebraska 301,598 Midwest
43 Honolulu Hawaii 294,194 West
44 Miami Florida 291,688 South
45 Akron Ohio 290,351 Midwest
46 El Paso Texas 276,687 South
47 Jersey City New Jersey 276,101 Northeast
48 Tampa Florida 274,970 South
49 Dayton Ohio 262,332 Midwest
50 Tulsa Oklahoma 261,685 South
51 Wichita Kansas 254,698 Midwest
52 Richmond Virginia 219,958 South
53 Syracuse New York 216,038 Northeast
54 Tucson Arizona 212,892 West
55 Des Moines Iowa 208,982 Midwest
56 Providence Rhode Island 207,498 Northeast
57 San Jose California 204,196 West
58 Mobile Alabama 202,779 South
59 Charlotte North Carolina 201,564 South
60 Albuquerque New Mexico 201,189 West
61 Jacksonville Florida 201,030 South
62 Flint Michigan 196,940 Midwest
63 Sacramento California 191,667 West
64 Yonkers New York 190,634 Northeast
65 Salt Lake City Utah 189,454 West
66 Worcester Massachusetts 186,587 Northeast
67 Austin Texas 186,545 South
68 Spokane Washington 181,608 West
69 St. Petersburg Florida 181,298 South
70 Gary Indiana 178,320 Midwest
71 Grand Rapids Michigan 177,313 Midwest
72 Springfield Massachusetts 174,463 Northeast
73 Nashville Tennessee 170,874 South
74 Corpus Christi Texas 167,690 South
75 Youngstown Ohio 166,689 Midwest
76 Shreveport Louisiana 164,372 South
77 Arlington Virginia 163,401 South
78 Hartford Connecticut 162,178 Northeast
79 Fort Wayne Indiana 161,776 Midwest
80 Bridgeport Connecticut 156,748 Northeast
81 Baton Rouge Louisiana 152,419 South
82 New Haven Connecticut 152,048 Northeast
83 Savannah Georgia 149,245 South
84 Tacoma Washington 147,979 West
85 Jackson Mississippi 144,422 South
86 Paterson New Jersey 143,663 Northeast
87 Evansville Indiana 141,543 Midwest
88 Erie Pennsylvania 138,440 Northeast
89 Amarillo Texas 137,969 South
90 Montgomery Alabama 134,393 South
91 Fresno California 133,929 West
92 South Bend Indiana 132,445 Midwest
93 Chattanooga Tennessee 130,009 South
94 Albany New York 129,726 Northeast
95 Lubbock Texas 128,691 South
96 Lincoln Nebraska 128,521 Midwest
97 Madison Wisconsin 126,706 Midwest
97 Rockford Illinois 126,706 Midwest
99 Kansas City Kansas 121,901 Midwest
100 Greensboro North Carolina 119,574 South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

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Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1960

Notes

  1. ^ "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790-1925". New York State Library. October 1981. pp. 46 (p. 52 of PDF). Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "The "72-Year Rule" – History". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  4. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.