Urbanization USA: percentage of rural vs urban population by decade from 1800 to 2020
June 6, 2021Over a two hundred year period, the USA was transformed from its original, mostly rural country, with over ninety percent of her population living outside of cities, to a mostly urbanized state.
Let’s look at how the numbers went decade by decade.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau
| Year | | | Rural | | | Urban |
| 1800 | 94% | 6% | ||
| 1810 | 93% | 7% | ||
| 1820 | 93% | 7% | ||
| 1830 | 91% | 9% | ||
| 1840 | 89% | 11% | ||
| 1850 | 85% | 15% | ||
| 1860 | 80% | 20% | ||
| 1870 | 74% | 26% | ||
| 1880 | 72% | 28% | ||
| 1890 | 65% | 35% | ||
| 1900 | 60% | 40% | ||
| 1910 | 54% | 46% | ||
| 1920 | 49% | 51% | ||
| 1930 | 44% | 56% | ||
| 1940 | 43% | 57% | ||
| 1950 | 40% | 60% | ||
| 1960 | 37% | 63% | ||
| 1970 | 26% | 74% | ||
| 1980 | 26% | 74% | ||
| 1990 | 25% | 75% | ||
| 2000 | 21% | 79% | ||
| 2010 | 19% | 81% | ||
| 2020 | tbd | tbd |
Also, see this interactive map: How Does the U.S. Census Bureau Define “Rural?”
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