1810 United States census
← 1800 August 6, 1810 (1810-08-06) 1820 →
Seal of the United States Marshals Service, which administered the census
A page of the 1810 United States census
General information
CountryUnited States
AuthorityOffice of the United States Marshal
Results
Total population7,239,881 (Increase 36.4%)
Most populous ​stateVirginia
983,152
Least populous ​stateDelaware
72,674

The 1810 United States census was the third census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 6, 1810. It showed that 7,239,881 people were living in the United States, of whom 1,191,362 were slaves.[1]

The 1810 census included one new state: Ohio. The original census returns for the District of Columbia, Georgia, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Ohio were lost or destroyed over the years.[2] Most of Tennessee's original forms were also lost, other than Grainger and Rutherford counties.[3]

This was the first census in which New York was ranked as the most populous state, if excluding West Virginia from Virginia. Otherwise this would be the last census with Virginia ranked as the most populous state.

Census questions

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The 1810 census form contained the following information (identical to the 1800 census):

  1. City or township
  2. Name of the head of family
  3. Number of free white males under age 10
  4. Number of free white males age 10 to under 16
  5. Number of free white males age 16 to under 26
  6. Number of free white males age 26 to under 45
  7. Number of free white males age 45 and over
  8. Number of free white females under age 10
  9. Number of free white females age 10 to under 16
  10. Number of free white females age 16 to under 26
  11. Number of free white females age 26 to under 45
  12. Number of free white females age 45 and over
  13. Number of all other free persons
  14. Number of slaves

Note to researchers

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Census taking was not yet an exact science. Before 1830, enumerators lacked pre-printed forms, and some drew up their own, resulting in pages without headings. Some enumerators did not tally their results. As a result, census records for many towns before 1830 are idiosyncratic. This is not to suggest that they are less reliable than subsequent censuses, but that they may require more work on the part of the researcher.

Data availability

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No microdata from the 1810 population census are available, but aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

State rankings

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Rank State Population
01 Virginia [4] 983,152
02 New York 959,049
03 Pennsylvania 810,091
04 Massachusetts [5] 700,745
05 North Carolina 556,526
06 South Carolina 415,115
07 Kentucky 406,511
08 Maryland 380,546
09 Connecticut 262,042
10 Tennessee 261,727
11 Georgia 251,407
12 New Jersey 245,555
13 Ohio 230,760
— Maine [6] 228,705
14 Vermont 217,713
15 New Hampshire 214,360
– West Virginia [7] 105,469
16 Rhode Island 76,931
— Louisiana 76,556
17 Delaware 72,674
— Mississippi 31,306
— Indiana 24,520
— Missouri 19,783
— District of Columbia [8] 15,471
— Illinois 12,282
— Alabama 9,046
— Michigan 4,762
— Arkansas 1,062

City rankings

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Rank City State Population[9][10] Region (2016)[11]
01 New York New York 96,373 Northeast
02 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 53,722 Northeast
03 Baltimore Maryland 46,555 South
04 Boston Massachusetts 33,787 Northeast
05 Charleston South Carolina 24,711 South
06 Northern Liberties Pennsylvania 19,874 Northeast
07 New Orleans Territory of Orleans[12] 17,242 South
08 Southwark Pennsylvania 13,707 Northeast
09 Salem Massachusetts 12,613 Northeast
10 Albany New York 10,762 Northeast
11 Providence Rhode Island 10,071 Northeast
12 Richmond Virginia 9,735 South
13 Norfolk Virginia 9,193 South
14 Washington District of Columbia 8,208 South
15 Newark New Jersey 8,008 Northeast
16 Newport Rhode Island 7,907 Northeast
17 Newburyport Massachusetts 7,634 Northeast
18 Alexandria District of Columbia 7,227 South
19 Portland Massachusetts[13] 7,169 Northeast
20 Portsmouth New Hampshire 6,934 Northeast
21 Nantucket Massachusetts 6,807 Northeast
22 Gloucester Massachusetts 5,943 Northeast
23 Schenectady New York 5,903 Northeast
24 Marblehead Massachusetts 5,900 Northeast
25 New Haven Connecticut 5,772 Northeast
26 Petersburg Virginia 5,668 South
27 New Bedford Massachusetts 5,651 Northeast
28 Lancaster Pennsylvania 5,405 Northeast
29 Savannah Georgia 5,215 South
30 Charlestown Massachusetts 4,959 Northeast
31 Georgetown District of Columbia 4,948 South
32 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 4,768 Northeast
33 Beverly Massachusetts 4,608 Northeast
34 Groton Connecticut 4,451 Northeast
35 Brooklyn New York 4,402 Northeast
36 Middleborough Massachusetts 4,400 Northeast
37 Gilmanton New Hampshire 4,338 Northeast
38 Lexington Kentucky 4,326 South
39 Woodbridge New Jersey 4,247 Northeast
40 Plymouth Massachusetts 4,228 Northeast
41 Lynn Massachusetts 4,087 Northeast
42 Hudson New York 4,048 Northeast
43 Hartford Connecticut 3,955 Northeast
44 Taunton Massachusetts 3,907 Northeast
45 Middletown New Jersey 3,849 Northeast
46 Smithfield Rhode Island 3,828 Northeast
47 Danbury Connecticut 3,606 Northeast
48 South Kingstown Rhode Island 3,560 Northeast
49 Greenwich Connecticut 3,533 Northeast
50 Reading Pennsylvania 3,462 Northeast
51 Evesham New Jersey 3,445 Northeast
52 New London Connecticut 3,238 Northeast
53 Andover Massachusetts 3,164 Northeast
54 South Amboy New Jersey 3,071 Northeast
55 Trenton New Jersey 3,002 Northeast
56 Norwalk Connecticut 2,983 Northeast
57 Elizabeth New Jersey 2,977 Northeast
58 Norwich Connecticut 2,976 Northeast
59 North Kingstown Rhode Island 2,957 Northeast
60 Coventry Rhode Island 2,928 Northeast
61 York Pennsylvania 2,847 Northeast
62 Hackensack New Jersey 2,835 Northeast
63 Berlin Connecticut 2,798 Northeast
64 Springfield Massachusetts 2,767 Northeast
65 Londonderry New Hampshire 2,766 Northeast
66 Farmington Connecticut 2,748 Northeast
67 Bristol Rhode Island 2,698 Northeast
68 Haverhill Massachusetts 2,682 Northeast
69 Pittsfield Massachusetts 2,665 Northeast
70 Worcester Massachusetts 2,577 Northeast
71 Cincinnati Ohio 2,540 Midwest
72 Nashville Tennessee 2,490 South

References

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  1. ^ "Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970" (PDF). census.gov.
  2. ^ Dollarhide, William (2001). The Census Book: A Genealogists Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes. North Salt Lake, Utah: HeritageQuest. p. 8.
  3. ^ "Tennessee Census Availability at TSLA and Online". March 5, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  4. ^ Including future state West Virginia.
  5. ^ Including future state of Maine.
  6. ^ Between 1790 and 1820, the District of Maine was part of the state of Massachusetts.
  7. ^ Between 1790 and 1860, the state of West Virginia was part of Virginia.
  8. ^ The District of Columbia is not a state but was created with the passage of the Residence Act of 1790. The territory that formed that federal capital was originally donated by both Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
  9. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  10. ^ "Population of Connecticut Towns 1756-1820". Connecticut Secretary of the State. State of Connecticut. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  12. ^ Louisiana had not yet become a state at this time.
  13. ^ In present day Maine.
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