The 1790 United States census recorded a population of 3,929,214.
It was the first nationwide census and counted residents as of August 2, 1790. The Constitution required an enumeration for congressional apportionment, and Congress assigned the work to marshals of the federal judicial districts.
Virginia was the most populous state in the count, with 747,610 residents, while Delaware was the least populous, with 59,094. The total included free people, enslaved people, and categories defined by the census law; the enumeration did not represent modern population-counting standards.
George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson both suspected that the census undercounted the population. Travel difficulties, dispersed settlements, limited administrative systems, and incomplete participation all affected the effort. The results were published in 1791.