UNITED STATES POPULATION 713 



SECTION II. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

 THE UNITED STATES 1 



POPULATION. In 1910 the population of the United States and possessions (the 

 latter estimated) was 101,100,000; the actual enumeration (including Alaska, Hawaii 

 and Porto Rico) was 93,402,151; and the inhabitants of " continental " United States 

 (including Alaska), 91,972,266, the figure used as a basis of comparison here. Of 

 this total three-fifths (60.6 %) was contained in the three-tenths of the country's area in 

 the " Northern " states: 2 i.e. New England (one-fourteenth of the tctal population); 

 the Middle Atlantic group (more than one-fifth); the East North Central group 

 (nearly one-fifth); and the West North Central (more than one-eighth). In this 

 group the proportion of population was twice the proportion of area. In the Southern 

 states the proportion of population (nearly one-third) was about the same as the pro- 

 portion of area, not quite three-tenths; in the South Atlantic group it was two-fifteenths 

 (13.3%); in the East South Central one-eleventh (9.1 %), and in the West South Central 

 nearly a tenth (9.6%) of the total. The Western states with nearly two-fifths (39.6%) 

 of the area had less than two-twenty-fifths (7.4%) of the population relative population 

 being to relative area as one to five; in the Mountain states there was about 2.9% and 

 in the Pacific states about 4.6% of the total population. Roughly three-tenths of the 

 area and seven-tenths of the population was east of the Mississippi river; and seven- 

 tenths of the area and three-tenths of the population west of it. 



Of the separate states eleven had each more than two and a half million inhabitants, 

 and together they contained a larger population than the other 37 states (and the District 

 of Columbia); in order these were: New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, 

 Massachusetts, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia and New Jersey. Only two of 

 these states are west of the Mississippi Texas, the largest state of the Union in area, 

 and Missouri, an important manufacturing state. The only one in the " Old South " 

 is Georgia, the great producer of coal and iron in the South. 



The relative increase for the entire country in the decade was 21%, a little more 

 than in 1890-1900, but less than in any other decade, even 1860-70, when the rate was 

 22.6% (or a little more). The actual increase in 1900-10 was 15,977,691, a much 

 greater one than ever before, and equal to the entire population about 1835. 



The decade's growth was largest in the West, 66.7%, as compared with 19.8% for 

 the South and 17.7% for the North. In the groups the greatest increase was 73.5% 

 (only 28 in 1890-1900) in the three Pacific states; and least in the East South Central 

 group (Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi; 11.4% (in 1890-1900, 17.4%). 

 In the most populous group, the three Middle Atlantic states, the rate was 25 %. Three 

 states, Washington, Oklahoma (both comparatively new states) and Idaho, doubled 

 in population, and Nevada came near doubling; the growth in the last two states was 

 partly due to changes in mining. Iowa, alone, decreased (0.3%) in the decade. The 

 lowest rates of increase were in rural New England (Vermont, 3.6%; New Hampshire, 

 4.6%), where economic conditions resemble those in the East South Central group. 



In 1910 the Middle Atlantic states ranked first and the East North Central states 

 second, changing positions since 1900. In the same way the West South Central, 

 fifth, and the East South Central, sixth in 1910, exchanged rankings in the decade. 



1 See E. B. xxvii, 612 et seq. 



2 The classification of states is as follows: Northern, including New England Group 

 (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut), Middle 

 Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), East North Central (Ohio, Indiana, 

 Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin), West North Central (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, 

 North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas) Southern, including the South Atlantic 

 Group (Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, Georgia and Florida), East South Central (Kentucky, Tennessee, 

 Alabama, and Mississippi), West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas), 

 and Western, including the Mountain Group (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New 

 Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada) and Pacific Group (Washington, Oregon and California). 



