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200 Years Of Us Population Growth In 2 Minutes

October 6, 2021 8 Comments

200 Years Of Us Population Growth In 2 Minutes

Map from VividMaps via Visual Capitalist

According to the 2020 US census there are 331.4 million people living in the United States.

The animated map above shows the growth of US population density from 1790-2010. In 1790, population density was just 4.5 people per sq. mile. But by 2010 it had grown to 87.4 people per sq. mile over a much larger area.

It should be noted that the map above has its shortcomings most notably the fact it doesn’t count Native Americans until they became full US citizens.

And there remains a huge variation in US population density. New Jersey is the densest state with 1,207 people per sq mile, while Alaska has only 1.28 or 1/1000th the population density. Washington DC is even denser at 11,685 people per sq. mile but is not yet a state.

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Filed Under: United States

Comments

  1. Brian C Clark says

    October 7, 2021 at 6:29 pm

    Wait, no one lived in North American before the whites arrived? really? how offensive can you get?

    Reply
    • Vandy Beth Glenn says

      December 16, 2021 at 4:15 am

      I would guess before whites arrived, population density was less than 1 person per square mile.

      Reply
    • Chris F says

      January 1, 2022 at 5:57 pm

      Yes, I was thinking of that. Plus, the boundaries of the US changed. The profile should show the borders in that year, or better still the area which actually had a census.
      People lived in Texas, Florida and California before the US annexed them. And I guess it took some time after most areas were incorporated and settled before the census counters arrived (e.g. North West).

      Reply
    • Fuck you Brian says

      June 25, 2022 at 2:49 am

      The census only records US citizens dummy.

      Reply
  2. Enid Ruth Pollock says

    October 9, 2021 at 3:15 pm

    Pretty cool way to look at it . Oklahoma is interesting – a late starter
    Thanks

    Reply
  3. allen stewart says

    November 4, 2021 at 4:21 pm

    Big fail. This is about Anglo people only.

    Reply
  4. Eduardo says

    January 25, 2022 at 5:15 pm

    It’s depressing to notice that you were completely aware of the “shortcoming” but still chose to use “US Population” in the post title and text as if Native American population didn’t matter at all.

    Reply
  5. Jack says

    November 14, 2022 at 5:36 am

    Literally, even after 2 centuries of population decline between the 1500s and 1700s, there were still over 100k Cherokee people living in North Georgia, Southern Tenn in 1800. Where are they on this map?

    Reply

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