The first United States census recorded a population of 3,929,214 in 1790, a demographic snapshot near the founding era celebrated by America250.
The census counted the population as of August 2, 1790, under authority granted by the Constitution. Congress assigned the work to U.S. marshals, who visited households and compiled returns for their judicial districts.
Virginia was the most populous state in the census, with 747,610 people, while Delaware was the least populous, with 59,094. The count covered the states then in the Union and included enslaved people under the census's categories.
George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson both suspected the result was an undercount. The early census was far less standardized than modern enumerations, but it created the foundation for the nation's decennial census system.