How America Has Changed Since the First Census in 1790

1900: New York City expands and Hawaii is added to census

• U.S. resident population: 76,212,168
• Number of official states: 45
• Median age of population: 24.1
• Immigrants obtaining legal resident status: 448,572
• Biggest cities: New York, NY (Population: 3,437,202), Chicago, IL (1,698,575), Philadelphia, PA (1,293,697)

The 1900 census was the first year that New York City included all five of its present boroughs, after the existing City of New York consolidated with the Bronx, Brooklyn, parts of Queens, and Staten Island in 1898 in order to contend with Chicago, which was growing in size, business, and technology.

1898 was also the year that the United States annexed Hawaii during the Spanish-American war, and the territory’s residents were included in the overall population count.