How America Has Changed Since the First Census in 1790

1950: Census pulls in Americans abroad and computers at home

• U.S. resident population: 151,325,798
• Number of official states: 48
• Median age of population: 29.6
• Immigrants obtaining legal resident status: 249,187
• Biggest cities: New York, NY (Population: 7,891,957), Chicago, IL (3,620,962), Philadelphia, PA (2,071,605)

In 1950, the Census Bureau expanded its questioning to include members of the armed forces and government employees living abroad; some civilians living abroad were also included (reported by their families or neighbors back at home), but this data was not of sufficient quality to be included in published statistics.

Later that decade, the Census Bureau became the first non-military agency in America to use a computer: UNIVAC I, used to tabulate statistics for the 1954 economic census, weighed 16,000 pounds.