What was the Census Day for the first United States census in 1790?

The Census Day for the first United States census was August 2, 1790.

The census was the first nationwide population count conducted under the new Constitution. Congress assigned U.S. marshals responsibility for collecting the information in the states and the Southwest Territory. The law required household visits and instructed officials to post completed schedules in public places for inspection.

The enumeration recorded about 3.9 million inhabitants in the commonly cited historical total. It classified people into categories such as free white males, free white females, other free persons, and enslaved people. These categories reflected the legal and political systems of the early republic rather than modern demographic standards.

The first census did not include every area that is now part of the United States. Vermont was counted after joining the Union in 1791, and the Northwest Territory was not enumerated in the same way. The next census took place in 1800, beginning the constitutional practice of counting the population every ten years.