According to the first U.S. census, 3,929,214 people lived in the country in 1790.
The census counted the population as of August 2, 1790, under the authority of an act of Congress. United States marshals visited households and compiled returns for the country’s first official population count. The total included free people and enslaved people, with categories defined by the law governing the census.
Virginia was the most populous state, with 747,610 people, while Delaware was the least populous, with 59,094. The enumeration covered the original states and parts of the territories then included in the federal count.
George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson both suspected that the total was an undercount. Difficult travel, scattered settlements, limited administrative capacity, and possible nonparticipation made the work challenging. The census was published in 1791 and established the recurring population count required by the Constitution.