The Population of Every US State Before and After the Civil War

The United States population, as of 2024, is roughly 342 million people. That is a far cry from the 31 million people who inhabited this nation during the Civil War. However, the country was still comprised of only 36 states and territories. It wasn’t until 1959, with the addition of Hawaii, that the U.S. became a nation of 50 states. While the nationwide population has increased exponentially, so have the individual states.

The American Civil War, which lasted from April 1861 to April 1865, cost the lives of approximately 620,000 soldiers, or about 2% of the country’s population at the time. Adjusted for population, this would be equivalent to six million U.S. fighters dying in battle over four years. The Civil War took place as the country was expanding geographically and demographically. People were heading out west in droves, toward states like Missouri and Illinois where many settled while others continued onward to lands Mexico ceded to the United States in 1848. 

The population of the country grew from 31.2 million to 38.1 million between 1860 and 1870. By 1870, state populations ranged from 4.4 million in New York to just 42,000 in Nevada (up considerably from the mere 7,000 residents it had in 1860 before it became a state). Washington, D.C., had only 132,000 people. California had just over a half million people, while the population of Texas was barely more than 800,000.

24/7 Tempo reviewed the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970” to find the population of the District of Columbia and all 33 states that were part of the country in 1860, then compared those numbers with similar data from 1870 to compile a list of the population of every U.S. pre and post Civil War. (These are the largest battles of the Civil War.)

New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois were the top four most populated states that remained unchanged from 1860 to 1870 and are still among the top 10 today. Among the top 10 most populated states in 1860 and 1870, Missouri moved from eighth to fifth place over that decade as its population grew by nearly 46%. Virginia, home to the Confederate capital of Richmond, dropped from seventh to tenth place, with almost no change in population.

New Hampshire, Maine, and South Carolina were three other states with populations that were also virtually unchanged. At the same time, the number of states with more than a million residents increased from 11 to 15 over the ten years. (Can you answer these real “Jeopardy!” questions about the U.S. population?)

Here is the population of every state pre and post Civil War

Alabama

• Population in 1860: 964,000 – ranked 13 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 997,000 – ranked 16 out of 34

Arkansas

• Population in 1860: 435,000 – ranked 25 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 484,000 – ranked 26 out of 34

California

• Population in 1860: 330,000 – ranked 26 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 560,000 – ranked 24 out of 34

Connecticut

• Population in 1860: 460,000 – ranked 24 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 537,000 – ranked 25 out of 34

Delaware

• Population in 1860: 112,000 – ranked 32 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 125,000 – ranked 33 out of 34

District of Columbia

• Population in 1860: 75,000 – ranked 33 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 132,000 – ranked 32 out of 34

Florida

• Population in 1860: 140,000 – ranked 31 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 188,000 – ranked 31 out of 34

Georgia

• Population in 1860: 1,057,000 – ranked 11 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,184,000 – ranked 12 out of 34

Illinois

• Population in 1860: 1,712,000 – ranked 4 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 2,540,000 – ranked 4 out of 34

Indiana

• Population in 1860: 1,350,000 – ranked 5 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,681,000 – ranked 6 out of 34

Iowa

• Population in 1860: 675,000 – ranked 20 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,194,000 – ranked 11 out of 34

Kentucky

• Population in 1860: 1,156,000 – ranked 9 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,321,000 – ranked 8 out of 34

Louisiana

• Population in 1860: 708,000 – ranked 17 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 727,000 – ranked 21 out of 34

Maine

• Population in 1860: 628,000 – ranked 22 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 627,000 – ranked 23 out of 34

Maryland

• Population in 1860: 687,000 – ranked 19 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 785,000 – ranked 20 out of 34

Massachusetts

• Population in 1860: 1,231,000 – ranked 6 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,457,000 – ranked 7 out of 34

Michigan

• Population in 1860: 749,000 – ranked 16 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,184,000 – ranked 13 out of 34

Minnesota

• Population in 1860: 172,000 – ranked 30 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 440,000 – ranked 27 out of 34

Mississippi

• Population in 1860: 791,000 – ranked 14 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 828,000 – ranked 18 out of 34

Missouri

• Population in 1860: 1,182,000 – ranked 8 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,721,000 – ranked 5 out of 34

New Hampshire

• Population in 1860: 326,000 – ranked 27 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 318,000 – ranked 29 out of 34

New Jersey

• Population in 1860: 672,000 – ranked 21 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 906,000 – ranked 17 out of 34

New York

• Population in 1860: 3,881,000 – ranked 1 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 4,383,000 – ranked 1 out of 34

North Carolina

• Population in 1860: 993,000 – ranked 12 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,071,000 – ranked 14 out of 34

Ohio

• Population in 1860: 2,340,000 – ranked 3 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 2,665,000 – ranked 3 out of 34

Oregon

• Population in 1860: 52,000 – ranked 34 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 91,000 – ranked 34 out of 34

Pennsylvania

• Population in 1860: 2,906,000 – ranked 2 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 3,522,000 – ranked 2 out of 34

Rhode Island

• Population in 1860: 175,000 – ranked 30 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 217,000 – ranked 32 out of 34

South Carolina

• Population in 1860: 704,000 – ranked 18 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 706,000 – ranked 22 out of 34

Tennessee

• Population in 1860: 1,110,000 – ranked 10 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,259,000 – ranked 9 out of 34

Texas

• Population in 1860: 604,000 – ranked 23 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 819,000 – ranked 19 out of 34

Vermont

• Population in 1860: 315,000 – ranked 28 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 331,000 – ranked 28 out of 34

Virginia

• Population in 1860: 1,220,000 – ranked 7 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,225,000 – ranked 10 out of 34

Wisconsin

• Population in 1860: 776,000 – ranked 15 out of 34
• Population in 1870: 1,055,000 – ranked 15 out of 34