1970 United States census

The 1970 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, counted the number of people living in the United States. It found that 203,392,031 people lived in the country, which was an increase of 13.4 percent from the 1960 census. This growth showed how quickly the nation was growing.

This census was special because it marked the first time since 1820 that New York was not the most populous state. California became the most populous state in January 1963 and stayed that way. It was also the first time that every state had more than 300,000 people, and the first time a city in the South—Houston—had more than 1 million people.

The 1970 Census was important for civil rights because laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 needed accurate information about race. For the first time, people identified their own race instead of having someone else decide for them. This helped make the census more fair and accurate.

Data availability

Microdata from the 1970 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, along with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. These data were originally created and shared by DUALabs. Personally identifiable information will be released in 2042.

State rankings

The 1970 United States census showed that the population had grown to 203,392,031 people, a rise of 13.4 percent since 1960. This census marked a big change: for the first time since 1820, New York was not the most populous state, as California had taken the lead in 1963. It was also the first time every state had more than 300,000 people, and the city of Houston in the southern part of the country had grown to over one million people.

Rank	State	Population as of 1970 census	Population as of 1960 census	Change	Percent change
1	California	19,953,134	15,717,204	4,235,930	27.0%
2	New York	18,236,967	16,782,304	1,454,663	8.7%
3	Pennsylvania	11,793,909	11,319,366	474,543	4.2%
4	Texas	11,196,730	9,579,677	1,617,053	16.9%
5	Illinois	11,113,976	10,081,158	1,032,818	10.2%
6	Ohio	10,652,017	9,706,397	945,620	9.7%
7	Michigan	8,875,083	7,823,194	1,051,889	13.4%
8	New Jersey	7,168,164	6,066,782	1,101,382	18.2%
9	Florida	6,789,443	4,951,560	1,837,883	37.1%
10	Massachusetts	5,689,170	5,148,578	540,592	10.5%
11	Indiana	5,193,669	4,662,498	531,171	11.4%
12	North Carolina	5,082,059	4,556,155	525,904	11.5%
13	Missouri	4,676,501	4,319,813	356,688	8.3%
14	Virginia	4,648,494	3,966,949	681,545	17.2%
15	Georgia	4,589,575	3,943,116	646,459	16.4%
16	Wisconsin	4,417,731	3,951,777	465,954	11.8%
17	Tennessee	3,923,687	3,567,089	356,598	10.0%
18	Maryland	3,922,399	3,100,689	821,710	26.5%
19	Minnesota	3,804,971	3,413,864	391,107	11.5%
20	Louisiana	3,641,306	3,257,022	384,284	11.8%
21	Alabama	3,444,165	3,266,740	177,425	5.4%
22	Washington	3,409,169	2,853,214	555,955	19.5%
23	Kentucky	3,218,706	3,038,156	180,550	5.9%
24	Connecticut	3,031,709	2,535,234	496,475	19.6%
25	Iowa	2,824,376	2,757,537	66,839	2.4%
26	South Carolina	2,590,516	2,382,594	207,922	8.7%
27	Oklahoma	2,559,229	2,328,284	230,945	9.9%
28	Kansas	2,246,578	2,178,611	67,967	3.1%
29	Mississippi	2,216,912	2,178,141	38,771	1.8%
30	Colorado	2,207,259	1,753,947	453,312	25.8%
31	Oregon	2,091,533	1,768,687	322,846	18.3%
32	Arkansas	1,923,295	1,786,272	137,023	7.7%
33	Arizona	1,745,944	1,302,161	443,783	34.1%
34	West Virginia	1,744,237	1,860,421	-116,184	-6.2%
35	Nebraska	1,483,493	1,411,330	72,163	5.1%
36	Utah	1,059,273	890,627	168,646	18.9%
37	New Mexico	1,017,055	951,023	66,032	6.9%
38	Maine	992,048	969,265	22,783	2.4%
39	Rhode Island	946,725	859,488	87,237	10.1%
40	Hawaii	769,913	632,772	137,141	21.7%
–	District of Columbia	756,510	763,956	-7,446	-1.0%
41	New Hampshire	737,681	606,921	130,760	21.5%
42	Idaho	712,567	667,191	45,376	6.8%
43	Montana	694,409	674,767	19,642	2.9%
44	South Dakota	665,507	680,514	-15,007	-2.2%
45	North Dakota	617,761	632,446	-14,685	-2.3%
46	Delaware	548,104	446,292	101,812	22.8%
47	Nevada	488,738	285,278	203,460	71.3%
48	Vermont	444,330	389,881	54,449	14.0%
49	Wyoming	332,416	330,066	2,350	0.7%
50	Alaska	300,382	226,167	74,215	32.8%

City rankings

The 1970 United States census counted the population of cities and states across the country. It showed that California had become the most populous state, taking the place of New York. This was the first time since 1820 that New York wasn’t the largest state by population.

Another important change was that Houston, a city in the southern part of the country, became the first city in that area to have more than one million people. All states also had populations of over 300,000 for the first time in history.

Locations of 50 most populous cities

The map shows the locations of the 50 most populous cities in the United States in 1970. Major cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston are highlighted. Other significant cities include Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, and many more across the country. This visualization helps us see where the largest populations were concentrated during that time.

Conclusions

In the 1970 United States census, California became the most populous state, taking the top spot from New York. The country's population grew to more than 204 million people, though four states, including West Virginia, actually lost population during this time.

Later, in 1973, the Census Bureau found that the 1970 census may have missed about 5.33 million people. This means the true population might have been closer to 208.7 million. The undercount included both white and black residents.