1810 United States census


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.
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. Most of Tennessee's original forms were also lost, other than Grainger and Rutherford counties.
This was the last census with Virginia ranked as the most populous state.

Census questions

The 1810 census form contained the following information :
  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

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

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

RankStatePopulation
01Virginia983,152
02New York959,049
03Pennsylvania810,091
04Massachusetts700,745
05North Carolina556,526
06South Carolina415,115
07Kentucky406,511
08Maryland380,546
09Connecticut262,042
10Tennessee261,727
11Georgia251,407
12New Jersey245,555
13Ohio230,760
—Maine228,705
14Vermont217,713
15New Hampshire214,360
–West Virginia105,469
16Rhode Island76,931
—Louisiana76,556
17Delaware72,674
—Mississippi31,306
—Indiana24,520
—Missouri19,783
—District of Columbia15,471
—Illinois12,282
—Alabama9,046
—Michigan4,762
—Arkansas1,062

City rankings