Mean center of United States population

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mean center of U.S. population is determined by the United States Census Bureau after tabulating the results of each census. The Bureau defines it to be:

“
the point at which an imaginary, flat, weightless, and rigid map of the United States would balance perfectly if weights of identical value were placed on it so that each weight represented the location of one person on the date of the census.^[1]”

During the 20th century, the mean center of population has shifted 324 miles (521 km) west and 101 miles (163 km) south. The southerly movement was much stronger during the second half of the century; 79 miles (127 km) of the 101 miles (163 km) happened between 1950 and 2000.

Mean center of population for the United States, 1790–2000 (U.S. Census Bureau)

The following counties included the mean center of U.S. population since 1790:^[2]

The addition of Alaska and Hawaii to the union had the effect of moving the center about two miles farther south and about ten miles farther west for 1960^{[dubious – discuss]}.

In the first census, 1790, the mean population center was located near Chestertown, Maryland.^[3]

Although the mean population centers between 1820 and 1860 were located in what is present day West Virginia, at the time they were located in Virginia (with West Virginia not having split from Virginia until 1862).^[3]