1850 United States census

1850 United States census
← 1840 June 1, 1850 (1850-06-01) 1860 →
Filled-out census-taker's form from 1850 U.S. census, including household of Abraham Lincoln
General information
Country	United States
Authority	Census Office
Results
Total population	23,191,876 ( 35.9%)
Most populous ​state	New York 3,097,394
Least populous ​state	Florida 87,445

The 1850 United States census was the seventh decennial United States Census Conducted by the Census Office, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876—an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons enumerated during the 1840 census. The total population included 3,204,313 enslaved people.

Although the official date of the census date was June 1, 1850,^[1] completed census forms indicate that the surveys continued to be made throughout the rest of the year.^[2][3]

This was the first census where there was an attempt to collect information about every member of every household; women and children were named. Slaves were included by gender and estimated age on Slave Schedules, listed by the name of the owner. Prior to 1850, census records had recorded only the name of the head of the household and broad statistical accounting of other household members (three children under age five, one woman between the age of 35 and 40, etc.). This was also the first census to ask about place of birth of free residents.

Hinton Rowan Helper made extensive use of the 1850 census results in his influential anti-slavery book The Impending Crisis of the South (1857).