For America250, what population did the 1790 U.S. census record?

The 1790 United States census recorded a population of 3,929,214 inhabitants.

It was the first nationwide census conducted under the new Constitution. Census Day was August 2, 1790, and federal marshals were responsible for collecting the information in the states and designated territories. The census counted people according to categories established by the law of the period, including enslaved people and free people of color.

Virginia was the most populous state in the enumeration, with 747,610 people, while Delaware was the least populous state, with 59,094. The figures were later revised in some historical accounts, but 3,929,214 is the official total generally associated with the first census.

The census mattered beyond statistics: Article One linked representation in the House of Representatives to population counts. America250 offers a chance to compare the small population of the early republic with the vastly larger United States of 2026.