How America Has Changed Since the First Census in 1790

1970: California is the most populous state

• U.S. resident population: 203,302,031
• Number of official states: 50
• Median age of population: 28.1
• Immigrants obtaining legal resident status: 373,326
• Biggest cities: New York, NY (Population: 7,894,862), Chicago, IL (3,366,957), Los Angeles, CA (2,816,061)

Thirteen questions were asked of all households that adhered to that year’s housing theme. Questions included inquiries about where there was a phone in the household, whether there was a flush toilet, and costs of utilities.

The population U.S. population rose by 13.4% between 1960 and 1970, bringing numbers up to 203.4 million, and marked the first census year since 1800 that New York was not the most populous state in the U.S. (California came in first)