Find your ancestors in US Census 1820

1820 U.S. Census Quick Facts

  • 1820 U.S. Census Date:
    August 7, 1820
    (All reported data is “as of” this official date chosen by the census agency)
  • 1820 Census Duration:
    13 months
  • 1820 U.S. Census Population:
    9,683,453
  • President during 1820 Census:
    James Monroe

23 States participated. New States in 1820 census include Alabama, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Maine. The territories of Arkansas, Michigan, and Missouri also participated.
23 States participated. New States in 1820 census include Alabama, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Maine. The territories of Arkansas, Michigan, and Missouri also participated.

1820 Census Data: 4th United States Census

  • It took approximately $209,000 and 1,188 enumerators to complete the 1820 census, producing 288 total pages in published reports.
  • The U.S. population increased by 33.1 percent from the 1810 census to the 1820 census.

Information requested by the 1820 U.S. Census

Among the many fields are included:


  • Name of the head of the family
  • Number of males and females

    • Under 10 years of age
    • Between 10 and 16
    • Between 16 and 26, including the head of the family
    • Between 26 and 45, including the head of the family
    • 45 and upwards, including the head of the family

  • Number of foreigners not naturalized
  • Number of persons engaged in agriculture
  • Number of persons engaged in commerce
  • Number of persons engaged in manufacturing
  • Number of slaves
  • Number of other free persons, except Indians, not taxed

What was lost from the 1820 U.S. Census?

The 1820 census records for New Jersey, Arkansas Territory, Missouri Territory were completely lost or destroyed. Alabama and Tennessee also lost parts of their census records for many individual counties.

Famous people in history: Susan B. Anthony

Born February 15, 1820 in Massachusetts, Susan B. Anthony became involved with the both the anti-slavery, or abolitionist, movement and the women's suffrage movement. Anthony pushed for women's right to vote and co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association.

Susan B. Anthony began her activism in the 1840s, holding abolitionist meetings at her family farm in New York with Frederick Douglass, another famous figure in the struggle to end slavery. Anthony was also an impassioned fighter for women's right to vote right until she died in 1906 at the age of 86. Sadly, she did not live to see women achieve voting rights that followed the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Historical events surrounding the 1820 U.S. Census

  • August 4, 1821: The Saturday Evening Post is published for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
  • December 20, 1820: Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between the ages 21 and 50.
  • November 26, 1825: The first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, is formed at Union College, Schenectady, New York.