Population

FROM AN ESTIMATED 4,600 white inhabitants in 1630, the country’s population grew to a total of more than 308 million in 2010. It is important to note that the U.S. census, first conducted in 1790 and the source of these figures, counted blacks, both free and slave, but did not include American Indians until 1860. The years 1790 to 1900 saw the most rapid population growth, with an average increase of 25 to 35 percent per decade. In addition to “natural” growth—birthrate exceeding death rate—immigration was also a factor in that rise, especially between 1840 and 1860, 1880 and 1890, and 1900 and 1910. The twentieth century witnessed slower growth, partly a result of 1920s immigration restrictions and a decline in the birthrate, especially during the depression era and the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. population is expected to pass 340 million by the year 2020.

Year Population Percent Increase
1630 4,600
1640 26,600 473.3
1650 50,400 89.1
1660 75,100 49.0
1670 111,900 49.1
1680 151,500 35.4
1690 210,400 38.9
1700 250,900 19.3
1710 331,700 32.2
1720 466,200 40.5
1730 629,400 35.0
1740 905,600 43.9
1750 1,170,800 30.0
1760 1,593,600 36.1
1770 2,148,100 34.8
1780 2,780,400 29.4
1790 3,929,214 41.3
1800 5,308,483 35.1
1810 7,239,881 36.4
1820 9,638,453 33.1
1830 12,866,020 33.5
1840 17,069,453 32.7
1850 23,191,876 35.9
1860 31,443,321 35.6
1870 39,818,449 26.6
1880 50,155,783 26.0
1890 62,947,714 25.5
1900 75,994,575 20.7
1910 91,972,266 21.0
1920 105,710,620 14.9
1930 122,775,046 16.1
1940 131,669,275 7.2
1950 150,697,361 14.5
1960 179,323,175 19.0
1970 203,302,031 13.4
1980 226,542,199 11.4
1990 248,718,302 9.8
2000 281,422,509 13.1
2010 308,745,538 9.7

SOURCE: Historical Statistics of the U.S. (1960), Historical Statistics of the U.S., Colonial Times to 1970 (1975), Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1996 (1996), Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 2003 (2003), and United States Census (2010).

Table 202.3: POPULATION GROWTH, 1630–2010