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1860 United States census

The 1860 United States census was the eighth census conducted in the United States starting June 1, 1860, and lasting five months. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,321[1] in 33 states and 10 organized territories. This was an increase of 35.6 percent[1] over the 23,191,876[2] persons enumerated during the 1850 census. The total population included 3,953,760[3] slaves.

1860 United States census
← 1850 June 1, 1860 (1860-06-01) 1870 →
1860 U.S. census from the state of New York
General information
CountryUnited States
AuthorityCensus Office
Results
Total population31,443,321[1] (Increase 35.6%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
3,880,735
Least populous ​stateOregon
52,465

By the time the 1860 census returns were ready for tabulation, the nation was sinking into the American Civil War. As a result, Census Superintendent Joseph C. G. Kennedy and his staff produced only an abbreviated set of public reports, without graphic or cartographic representations. The statistics did allow the census staff to produce a cartographic display, including preparing maps of Southern states, for Union field commanders. These maps displayed militarily vital topics, including the white population, slave population, predominant agricultural products (by county), and rail and post road transportation routes.

This census saw Philadelphia regain its position as a second-most populous American city, which it had lost to Baltimore in 1820, due to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 merging many smaller surrounding townships, such as Spring Garden, Northern Liberties, and Kensington, into the main city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia would lose the second-most populous American city position to Chicago in 1890.

Census questions

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The 1860 census Schedule 1 (Free Inhabitants) was one of two schedules that counted the population of the United States; the other was Schedule 2 (Slave Inhabitants).

Schedule 1 collected the following information:[4]

Column Title Notes
1 Dwelling-houses – numbered in the order of visitation.
2 Families numbered in the order of visitation
3 The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June 1860, was in this family.
4 Description: Age.
5 Description: Sex. M or F
6 Description: Color, (White, black, or mulatto). W, B or M
7 Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age.
8 Value of Estate Owned: Value of Real Estate.
9 Value of Estate Owned: Value of Personal Estate.
10 Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country.
11 Married within the year. Marked with '/'
12 Attended School within the year. Marked with '/'
13 Persons over 20 years of age who can not read and write. Marked with '/'
14 Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict.

Schedule 2 (Slave Inhabitants) collected the following information:[5]

Column Title Notes
1 Name of slave owner
2 Number of slaves
3 Age
4 Sex
5 Color
6 Fugitive from the state Marked with '/'
7 Number Manumitted
8 Deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic
9 Number of slave houses

Data availability

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Full documentation for the 1860 population census, including microdata, census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS). Aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

Common occupations

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National data reveals that farmers (owners and tenants) made up nearly 10% of utilized occupations. Farm laborers (wage workers) represent the next highest percent with 3.2%, followed by general laborers at 3.0%.[6]

More localized data shows that other occupations were common. In the town of Essex, Massachusetts, a large section of the women in the labor force were devoted to shoe-binding, while for men the common occupations were farming and shoe-making.[7] This heavy demand of shoe-related labor reinforces the high demand for rigorous physical laborers in the economy, as supported by the data of very large amounts of farm related work as compared to most other labor options.

IPUMS' data also notes that the share of the population that had been enrolled in school or marked as "Student" stood at 0.2%. This demonstrates a small rate of growth, if any, in the proficiency of the human capital of the time—the skill set a worker has to apply to the labor force, which can increase total output through increased efficiency.

The census of 1860 was the last in which much of Southern wealth was held as slaves—still legally considered property.

Population of U.S. states and territories

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Population of the US States and Territories[8][9][10][11]
Rank State Free Population Slave Population Population Percentage Enslaved
01 New York 3,880,735 0 3,880,735 0
02 Pennsylvania 2,906,215 0 2,906,215 0
03 Ohio 2,339,511 0 2,339,511 0
04 Illinois 1,711,951 0 1,711,951 0
05 Virginia 1,105,453 490,865 1,596,318 30.7
06 Indiana 1,350,428 0 1,350,428 0
07 Massachusetts 1,231,066 0 1,231,066 0
08 Missouri 1,067,081 114,931 1,182,012 9.7
09 Kentucky 930,201 225,483 1,155,684 19.5
10 Tennessee 834,082 275,719 1,109,801 24.8
11 Georgia 595,088 462,198 1,057,286 43.7
12 North Carolina 661,563 331,059 992,622 33.4
13 Alabama 529,121 435,080 964,201 45.1
14 Mississippi 354,674 436,631 791,305 55.2
15 Wisconsin 775,881 0 775,881 0
16 Michigan 749,113 0 749,113 0
17 Louisiana 376,276 331,726 708,002 46.9
18 South Carolina 301,302 402,406 703,708 57.2
19 Maryland 599,860 87,189 687,049 12.7
20 Iowa 674,913 0 674,913 0
21 New Jersey 672,017 18 672,035 0.01
22 Maine 628,279 0 628,279 0
23 Texas 421,649 182,566 604,215 30.2
24 Connecticut 460,147 0 460,147 0
25 Arkansas 324,335 111,115 435,450 25.5
26 California 379,994 0 379,994 0
27 New Hampshire 326,073 0 326,073 0
28 Vermont 315,098 0 315,098 0
29 Rhode Island 174,620 0 174,620 0
30 Minnesota 172,023 0 172,023 0
31 Florida 78,679 61,745 140,424 44.0
32 Delaware 110,418 1,798 112,216 1.6
33 Oregon 52,465 0 52,465 0
X Kansas Territory[12] 107,204 2 107,206 0.01
X New Mexico Territory 93,516 0 93,516 0
X District of Columbia 71,985 3,185 75,080 4.4
X Utah Territory 40,184 29 40,273 0.07
X Colorado Territory 34,277 0 34,277 0
X Nebraska Territory 28,826 15 28,841 0.01
X Washington Territory 11,594 0 11,594 0
X Nevada Territory 6,857 0 6,857 0
X Dakota Territory 4,837 0 4,837 0

City rankings

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Rank City State Population[13] Region (2016)[14]
01 New York New York 813,669 Northeast
02 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 565,529 Northeast
03 Brooklyn New York 266,661 Northeast
04 Baltimore Maryland 212,418 South
05 Boston Massachusetts 177,840 Northeast
06 New Orleans Louisiana 168,675 South
07 Cincinnati Ohio 161,044 Midwest
08 St. Louis Missouri 160,773 Midwest
09 Chicago Illinois 112,172 Midwest
10 Buffalo New York 81,129 Northeast
11 Newark New Jersey 71,941 Northeast
12 Louisville Kentucky 68,033 South
13 Albany New York 62,367 Northeast
14 Washington District of Columbia 61,122 South
15 San Francisco California 56,802 West
16 Providence Rhode Island 50,666 Northeast
17 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 49,221 Northeast
18 Rochester New York 48,204 Northeast
19 Detroit Michigan 45,619 Midwest
20 Milwaukee Wisconsin 45,246 Midwest
21 Cleveland Ohio 43,417 Midwest
22 Charleston South Carolina 40,522 South
23 New Haven Connecticut 39,267 Northeast
24 Troy New York 39,235 Northeast
25 Richmond Virginia 37,910 South
26 Lowell Massachusetts 36,827 Northeast
27 Mobile Alabama 29,258 South
28 Jersey City New Jersey 29,226 Northeast
29 Hartford Connecticut 29,152 Northeast
30 Allegheny Pennsylvania 28,702 Northeast
31 Syracuse New York 28,119 Northeast
32 Portland Maine 26,341 Northeast
33 Cambridge Massachusetts 26,060 Northeast
34 Roxbury Massachusetts 25,137 Northeast
35 Charlestown Massachusetts 25,065 Northeast
36 Worcester Massachusetts 24,960 Northeast
37 Reading Pennsylvania 23,162 Northeast
38 Memphis Tennessee 22,623 South
39 Utica New York 22,529 Northeast
40 New Bedford Massachusetts 22,300 Northeast
41 Savannah Georgia 22,292 South
42 Salem Massachusetts 22,252 Northeast
43 Wilmington Delaware 21,258 South
44 Manchester New Hampshire 20,107 Northeast
45 Dayton Ohio 20,081 Midwest
46 Paterson New Jersey 19,586 Northeast
47 Lynn Massachusetts 19,083 Northeast
48 Indianapolis Indiana 18,611 Midwest
49 Columbus Ohio 18,554 Midwest
50 Petersburg Virginia 18,266 South
51 Lawrence Massachusetts 17,639 Northeast
52 Lancaster Pennsylvania 17,603 Northeast
53 Trenton New Jersey 17,228 Northeast
54 Nashville Tennessee 16,988 South
55 Oswego New York 16,816 Northeast
56 Kingston New York 16,640 Northeast
57 Covington Kentucky 16,471 South
58 Bangor Maine 16,407 Northeast
59 Taunton Massachusetts 15,376 Northeast
60 Springfield Massachusetts 15,199 Northeast
61 Poughkeepsie New York 14,726 Northeast
62 Norfolk Virginia 14,620 South
63 Camden New Jersey 14,358 Northeast
64 Wheeling Virginia 14,083 South
65 Norwich Connecticut 14,048 Northeast
66 Peoria Illinois 14,045 Midwest
67 Fall River Massachusetts 14,026 Northeast
68 Sacramento California 13,785 West
69 Toledo Ohio 13,768 Midwest
70 Newtown New York 13,725 Northeast
71 Quincy Illinois 13,718 Midwest
72 Harrisburg Pennsylvania 13,405 Northeast
73 Newburyport Massachusetts 13,401 Northeast
74 Chelsea Massachusetts 13,395 Northeast
75 Bridgeport Connecticut 13,299 Northeast
76 Smithfield Rhode Island 13,283 Northeast
77 Dubuque Iowa 13,000 Midwest
78 Alexandria Virginia 12,652 South
79 New Albany Indiana 12,647 Midwest
80 Newburgh New York 12,578 Northeast
81 Augusta Georgia 12,493 South
82 Hempstead New York 12,376 Northeast
83 Yonkers New York 11,848 Northeast
84 North Providence Rhode Island 11,818 Northeast
85 Elizabeth New Jersey 11,567 Northeast
86 Evansville Indiana 11,484 Midwest
87 Davenport Iowa 11,267 Midwest
88 New Brunswick New Jersey 11,256 Northeast
89 Auburn New York 10,986 Northeast
90 Gloucester Massachusetts 10,904 Northeast
91 Concord New Hampshire 10,896 Northeast
92 Lockport New York 10,871 Northeast
93 Newport Rhode Island 10,508 Northeast
94 Saint Paul Minnesota 10,401 Midwest
95 Flushing New York 10,188 Northeast
96 New London Connecticut 10,115 Northeast
97 Cortlandt New York 10,074 Northeast
98 Nashua New Hampshire 10,065 Northeast
99 Newport Kentucky 10,046 South
100 Waterbury Connecticut 10,004 Northeast

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "1860 Fast Facts". U.S. Census Bureau. December 14, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "1850 Fast Facts". U.S. Census Bureau. December 14, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Recapitulation of the Tables of Population, Nativity, and Occupation" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "1860 Census Questionnaire" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "1860 Census Records - What Questions did the census ask?". US Census Bureau. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "IPUMS 1860 Census Data". IPUMS Data Collection. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  7. ^ Wilhelm, Kurt. "Essex, MA Census 1860". 1860 Federal Census. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  8. ^ Data tabulated by "1860 Census Results". The Civil War Home Page. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  9. ^ Population figures checked against "1860 Census: Population of the United States". Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. December 20, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "1860 Census: Population of the United States". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  11. ^ For territories see Jos. C. G. Kennedy, Preliminary Report of the Eighth Census, 1860 (1862) pp 259, 291–294.
  12. ^ Kansas is admitted as a state in 1861, prior to the publication of the 1860 Census in 1864, and therefore listed as a state not a territory in the 1860 Census.
  13. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  14. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
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