The Fourth of July: 2023
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As we celebrate this Independence Day, we reflect on how our Founding Fathers enshrined in our Constitution the importance of data as a vital tool for measuring America.
Most of the following facts are possible thanks to responses to U.S. Census Bureau censuses and surveys. We appreciate the public’s cooperation as we continuously measure our people, places and economy.
Did You Know?
2.5 million
The estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation in July 1776.
Source:
333,287,557
The nation’s population on July 1, 2022.
Source:
56
The number of signers of the Declaration of Independence.
It is also worth noting that:
John Hancock, a merchant by trade, was the first signer. In 2021, more than 1 million business establishments nationally with paid employees were in the retail trade industry like Hancock.
Source:
- Benjamin Franklin, who represented Pennsylvania, was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence at age 70. Pennsylvania had a resident population of 12,972,008 on July 1, 2022. Edward Rutledge of South Carolina was the youngest signer at age 26. South Carolina had a resident population of 5,282,634 on July 1, 2022.
Source:
Patriotic Places
- Places with the word “liberty” in their names.
Source:
- Places with the word “union” in their names.
Source:
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Observances in our Facts for Features series:
- National Black History Month (February)
- Women's History Month (March)
- Irish-American Heritage Month (March)
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May)
- The Fourth of July
- Anniversary of Americans With Disabilities Act (July 26)
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15)
- Halloween (Oct. 31)
- National Native American Heritage Month (November)
- Veterans Day (Nov. 11)
- Holiday Season (November — December)
Editor’s note: These data come from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. We generally release Facts for Features about two months before observances to accommodate magazine production timelines. For more information, contact the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office at (301)763-3030 or <pio@census.gov>.
Profile America's Facts for Features provides statistics related to observances and holidays not covered by Stats for Stories. For observances not listed above, visit our Stats for Stories webpage.
Stats for Stories provides links to timely story ideas highlighting newsworthy Census Bureau statistics that relate to current events, observances, holidays and anniversaries. The story ideas are intended to assist the media in story mining and producing content for their audiences. Dates with presidential proclamations are marked with (P).