Decennial Census Historical Facts

Skip Navigation
Within Decennial Census of Population and Housing

Decennial Census Historical Facts

Censuses are not conducted in a vacuum. They occur amidst internal and external crisis, shifts in cultural interests, and events that become "defining moments" for each decade. Census data reflect the growth of the population as well as the changing values and interests of the American people.

Decennial Historical Facts provides a portrait of the United States both statistically and culturally in the following four areas:

  • Pop Culture – key milestones from the decade following the census.
  • Population
  • Census Details
  • 10 Largest Urban Places

2000
  • 2020
  • 2010
  • 2000
  • 1990
  • 1980
  • 1970
  • 1960
  • 1950
  • 1940
  • 1930
  • 1920
  • 1910
  • 1900
  • 1890
  • 1880
  • 1870
  • 1860
  • 1850
  • 1840
  • 1830
  • 1820
  • 1810
  • 1800
  • 1790

2000

ICONS: September 11, Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama

Population

281,421,906
 U.S. Resident Population
79.6
 Population per square mile of land area
13.1
 Percent increase of population from 1990 to 2000
50
 Number of States

10 Largest Urban Places

Rank
 Place
 Population
1
 New York City, NY 8,008,278
2
 Los Angeles, CA 3,694,820
3
 Chicago, IL 2,896,016
4
 Houston, TX 1,953,631
5
 Philadelphia, PA 1,517,550
6
 Phoenix, AZ 1,321,045
7
 San Diego, CA 1,223,400
8
 Dallas, TX 1,188,580
9
 San Antonio, TX 1,144,646
10
 Detroit, MI 951,270

The 2000 Census

Cost $6.5 billion (est.)
Cost per Capita (cents) 2309.0 (est.)
Total Pages in Published Reports N/A
Number of Enumerators 550,000 (est.)
Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt
Number of Questions on the Questionnaire 7
Number of Questions on the Long Form 52

Pop Culture

  • The "dot.com" technology bubble, spanning from 1995 to 2000, peaks when intraday trading on the NASDAQ exchange reaches 5132.52.
  • Hijacked airliners crash into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, PA, September 11, 2001.
  • On October 23, 2001, Apple Computer unveils the first Ipod.
  • The Space Shuttle Columbia breaks apart during reentry, killing the seven astronauts onboard, February 1, 2003.
  • On December 26, 2004, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded (approximately 9.3 magnitude) creates a tsunami that devastates South Asia leaving more than 230,000 dead.
  • Author Stephenie Meyer publishes Twilight the first in her wildly popular series about "Bella" Swann and a vampire named Edward Cullen.
  • Hurricane Katrina, the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, hits southeast Louisiana, August 29, 2005.
  • Author J.K. Rowling publishes the final installment of her Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, July 2007.
  • Senator Barack Obama is elected president on November 4, 2008.
  • In January 2009, Nickelodeon celebrates the 10th anniversary of the hit children's television program "SpongeBob SquarePants."

Related Information

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021