This data collection contains 132 Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) files from the 1970 Census of Population and Housing. Information is provided in these files on the housing unit, such as occupancy and vacancy status of house, tenure, value of property, commercial use, year structure was built, number of rooms, availability of plumbing facilities, sewage disposal, bathtub or shower, complete kitchen facilities, flush toilet, water, telephone, and air conditioning. Data are also provided on household characteristics such as the number of persons aged 18 years and younger in the household, the presence of roomers, boarders, or lodgers, the presence of other nonrelative and of relative other than wife or child of head of household, the number of persons per room, the rent paid for unit, and the number of persons with Spanish surnames. Other demographic variables provide information on age, race, marital status, place of birth, state of birth, Puerto Rican heritage, citizenship, education, occupation, employment status, size of family, farm earnings, and family income. This hierarchical data collection contains approximately 214 variables for the 15-percent sample, 227 variables for the 5-percent sample, and 117 variables for the neighborhood characteristics sample.

The median age in the United States reached 39.2 years in 2024. This was up from 28.1 in 1970, reflecting a significant aging of the population. Over the coming decades, the number of retirees is projected to rise by about 40 percent by 2050. This demographic shift will present new challenges to American society, reshaping patterns of consumption, work and public policy in the decades ahead. Can an older America balance the books? Social Security spending is set to rise as America grows older. The program, which is the government’s main pillar of support for retirees, already absorbs about five percent of GDP. This could reach six percent by 2035. That trajectory will keep pressure on policymakers to balance promises to pensioners with broader fiscal constraints. A world growing older The aging trend is not unique to the U.S. The global median age reached 30.9 in 2025, up from 20.3 in 1970. By 2050, China, Japan and South Korea are expected to rank among the countries with the largest shares of people aged 65 and over. The change will oblige policymakers to adapt long-standing arrangements to societies where a larger share of people are in later life.

In the past four centuries, the population of the Thirteen Colonies and United States of America has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 346 million in 2025. While the fertility rate has now dropped well below replacement level, and the population is on track to go into a natural decline in the 2040s, projected high net immigration rates mean the population will continue growing well into the next century, crossing the 400 million mark in the 2070s. Indigenous population Early population figures for the Thirteen Colonies and United States come with certain caveats. Official records excluded the indigenous population, and they generally remained excluded until the late 1800s. In 1500, in the first decade of European colonization of the Americas, the native population living within the modern U.S. borders was believed to be around 1.9 million people. The spread of Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to biologically defenseless populations in the New World then wreaked havoc across the continent, often wiping out large portions of the population in areas that had not yet made contact with Europeans. By the time of Jamestown's founding in 1607, it is believed the native population within current U.S. borders had dropped by almost 60 percent. As the U.S. expanded, indigenous populations were largely still excluded from population figures as they were driven westward, however taxpaying Natives were included in the census from 1870 to 1890, before all were included thereafter. It should be noted that estimates for indigenous populations in the Americas vary significantly by source and time period. Migration and expansion fuels population growth The arrival of European settlers and African slaves was the key driver of population growth in North America in the 17th century. Settlers from Britain were the dominant group in the Thirteen Colonies, before settlers from elsewhere in Europe, particularly Germany and Ireland, made a large impact in the mid-19th century. By the end of the 19th century, improvements in transport technology and increasing economic opportunities saw migration to the United States increase further, particularly from southern and Eastern Europe, and in the first decade of the 1900s the number of migrants to the U.S. exceeded one million people in some years. It is also estimated that almost 400,000 African slaves were transported directly across the Atlantic to mainland North America between 1500 and 1866 (although the importation of slaves was abolished in 1808). Blacks made up a much larger share of the population before slavery's abolition. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily since 1900, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. Since WWII, the U.S. has established itself as the world's foremost superpower, with the world's largest economy, and most powerful military. This growth in prosperity has been accompanied by increases in living standards, particularly through medical advances, infrastructure improvements, clean water accessibility. These have all contributed to higher infant and child survival rates, as well as an increase in life expectancy (doubling from roughly 40 to 80 years in the past 150 years), which have also played a large part in population growth. As fertility rates decline and increases in life expectancy slows, migration remains the largest factor in population growth. Since the 1960s, Latin America has now become the most common origin for migrants in the U.S., while immigration rates from Asia have also increased significantly. It remains to be seen how immigration restrictions of the current administration affect long-term population projections for the United States.

This data collection contains the MEDList file, the geographic reference file for the 1970 Census containing records for states, counties, minor civil divisions (MCD) or census county divisions (CCD)s, place segments, enumeration districts, and block groups. Items include state code, county code, MCD/CCD code, place code, place type, standard consolidated area code, standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) code, urbanized area code, tracted area code, state economic area code, economic subregion code, central business district code, area name, tract code, block group code, enumeration district code, urban/rural classification, ward code, congressional district code, housing count, and population count.

These data are from the 20-, 15-, and 5-percent samples of the 1970 United States Census of Population and Housing, and contain tabulations of housing characteristics such as housing value, number of housing units in structure, number of rooms in housing unit, year structure was built, occupancy/vacancy status, tenure, rent, type of heating fuel, source of water, and presence of an air conditioner and other home appliances. The unit of observation for these data files is the census tract. There is one file for each of 48 states and the District of Columbia. The Census Bureau did not issue data for Vermont and Wyoming because these two states were not tracted in 1970.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union had relatively similar total populations. The U.S.' population grew from around 205 million to almost 250 million people between 1970 and 1990, while the USSR's population grew from around 240 to 290 million in this time. In these years, the Soviet Union had the third largest population in the world, and the U.S. had the fourth largest (behind China and India respectively). Despite their similar sizes, these populations differed in terms of distribution as the U.S.' population was approximately three quarters urban in this period, whereas the Soviet Union's urban population was just 56 percent in 1970 and 66 percent in 1989. Additionally, the Soviet Union's population was much younger than that of the U.S. due to a higher birth rate and lower life expectancy.

Analysis unit

Persons, households, and dwellings

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: yes - Vacant Units: Yes - Households: yes - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: yes

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: no - Households: Dwelling places with fewer than five persons unrelated to a household head, excluding institutions and transient quarters. - Group quarters: Institutions, transient quarters, and dwelling places with five or more persons unrelated to a household head.

Universe

Residents of the 50 states (not the outlying areas).

Kind of data

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 2029666.

SAMPLE DESIGN: 1-in-100 national random sample drawn by the U.S. Census Bureau

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

One in five housing units in 1970 received a long form containing supplemental sample questions. There were two versions of the long form, with different inquiries on both housing and population items; 15 percent of households received one version, and 5 percent received the other. Six independent 1 percent public use samples were produced for 1970, three from the 15 percent questionnaire and three from the 5 percent questionnaire. IPUMS-International uses the "Form 2 Metro" sample.

This data collection provides net migration estimates by age, race, and sex for counties of the United States. Population data are included along with absolute net migration data and net migration ratios (rates) for the period 1970-1980. Summary records for states, divisions, regions and the United States are also supplied. Several data categories are presented in the collection. Vital Statistics data tabulate births by sex and race (white and non white) for the periods 1970-1974 and 1975-1979 and deaths by race from 1970-1979 as well as adjusted total population for 1970 and 1980 by race. The Enumerated and Adjusted 1970 and 1980 Population categories offer population totals by race and sex and further subdivide these totals into 16 5-year age ranges. Net Migration Estimates and Net Migration Rates are available also, with totals by sex and race presented along with the 16 age divisions.

Polygon geometry with attributes displaying the 1970 Census tracts and respective population stats in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

In 2024, the United States had a resident population of around 340 million inhabitants. See figures for the total population by continent here.

This data collection consists of modified records from CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1970 [UNITED STATES]: PUBLIC USE SAMPLES (ICPSR 0018). The original records consisted of 120-character household records and 120-character person records, whereas the new modified records are rectangular (each person record is combined with the corresponding household record) with a length of 188, after the deletion of some items. Additional information was added to the data records, including typical educational requirement for current occupation, occupational prestige score, and group identification code. This version also differs from the original public use census samples in other ways: persons aged 15-75 were included, no majority males were included, but the majority males from CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING [UNITED STATES], 1970 PUBLIC USE SAMPLE: MODIFIED 1/1000 5% STATE SAMPLES (ICPSR 7922) were included for convenience, 10 percent of the Black population from each file was included, and Mexican Americans (identified by a Spanish surname) from outside the five southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas were not included in this file. Variables provide information on the housing unit, such as occupancy and vacancy status of house, value of property, commercial use, ratio of rent and property value to family income, availability of plumbing facilities, sewage disposal, complete kitchen facilities, heating facilities, flush toilet, water, television, and telephone. Data are also provided on household characteristics such as household size, family size, and household relationships. Other demographic variables specify age, sex, place of birth, state of residence, Spanish descent, marital status, race, veteran status, income, and ratio of family income to poverty cutoff level. This collection was made available by the National Chicano Research Network of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. See the related collection, CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING [UNITED STATES], 1970 PUBLIC USE SAMPLE: MODIFIED 1/1000 5% STATE SAMPLES (ICPSR 7922).

Abstract (en): This data collection contains extracts of the original DUALabs Special Fifth Count ED/BG Summary Tapes. They are comprised of limited demographic and socioeconomic variables for 27 states in the continental United States. Data are provided at the county, minor civil division, enumeration district, and block group levels for total population and Spanish heritage population for the following states: Minnesota, Nevada, Wyoming, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Missouri, Washington, Iowa, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, and California. Demographic variables provide information on race, age, sex, country and place of origin, income, and family status and size. The data were obtained by ICPSR from the National Chicano Research Network, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Created variable labels and/or value labels.. A total of 27 states in the continental United States. 2011-08-18 SAS, SPSS, and Stata setups have been added to this data collection.2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 28 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 28 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.

This file contains annual population estimates for the entire nation and for each state for the years 1970-1979. The data for 1970 are from the 1970 Census of Population and Housing taken April 1, 1970. Summaries are given for the total population, and by the following age groups: 0-4, 5-14, 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 and older, 16 and older, 18 and older and 21 and older.

This data set represents U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) historical Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) from the 1970's that has been refined with 2000 population density at the block group level to indicate new residential development representative of the early 2000's. Any area having a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile had been re-classified as "urban" land in this data set.

The Population online databases contain data from the US Census Bureau. The Census Estimates online database contains contains county-level population counts for years 1970 - 2000. The data comprise the April 1st Census counts for years 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000, the July 1st intercensal estimates for years 1971-1979 and 1981-1989, and the July 1st postcensal estimates for years 1991-1999. The Census Projections online database contains population projections for years 2004-2030 by year, state, age, race and sex, prodyced by teh Cenus Bureau in 2005. The data are produced by the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division.

Analysis unit

Persons, households, and dwellings

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: yes - Vacant Units: Yes - Households: yes - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: yes

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: no - Households: Dwelling places with fewer than five persons unrelated to a household head, excluding institutions and transient quarters. - Group quarters: Institutions, transient quarters, and dwelling places with five or more persons unrelated to a household head.

Universe

Residents of Puerto Rico

Kind of data

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 27212.

SAMPLE DESIGN: 1-in-100 national random sample of the population, drawn by the U.S. Census Bureau. Three independent 1 percent public use samples were produced for 1970, each privileging a particular geography: neighborhood, municipio, and "state". IPUMS-International uses the municipio sample.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

One in five housing units in 1970 received a long form containing supplemental sample questions.

This data collection contains extracts of the original DUALabs Special Fifth Count ED/BG Summary Tapes. They are comprised of limited demographic and socioeconomic variables for 27 states in the continental United States. Data are provided at the county, minor civil division, enumeration district, and block group levels for total population and Spanish heritage population for the following states: Minnesota, Nevada, Wyoming, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Missouri, Washington, Iowa, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, and California. Demographic variables provide information on race, age, sex, country and place of origin, income, and family status and size. The data were obtained by ICPSR from the National Chicano Research Network, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

In 2023, about 17.7 percent of the American population was 65 years old or over; an increase from the last few years and a figure which is expected to reach 22.8 percent by 2050. This is a significant increase from 1950, when only eight percent of the population was 65 or over. A rapidly aging population In recent years, the aging population of the United States has come into focus as a cause for concern, as the nature of work and retirement is expected to change to keep up. If a population is expected to live longer than the generations before, the economy will have to change as well to fulfill the needs of the citizens. In addition, the birth rate in the U.S. has been falling over the last 20 years, meaning that there are not as many young people to replace the individuals leaving the workforce. The future population It’s not only the American population that is aging -- the global population is, too. By 2025, the median age of the global workforce is expected to be 39.6 years, up from 33.8 years in 1990. Additionally, it is projected that there will be over three million people worldwide aged 100 years and over by 2050.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Population (LU1)

FULL MEASURE NAME Population estimates

LAST UPDATED October 2019

DESCRIPTION Population is a measurement of the number of residents that live in a given geographical area, be it a neighborhood, city, county or region.

DATA SOURCES U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census No link available (1960-1990) http://factfinder.census.gov (2000-2010)

California Department of Finance: Population and Housing Estimates Table E-6: County Population Estimates (1961-1969) Table E-4: Population Estimates for Counties and State (1971-1989) Table E-8: Historical Population and Housing Estimates (2001-2018) Table E-5: Population and Housing Estimates (2011-2019) http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/

U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - via Longitudinal Tract Database Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences, Brown University Population Estimates (1970 - 2010) http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/index.htm

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 5-Year Population Estimates (2011-2017) http://factfinder.census.gov

U.S. Census Bureau: Intercensal Estimates Estimates of the Intercensal Population of Counties (1970-1979) Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population (1980-1989) Population Estimates (1990-1999) Annual Estimates of the Population (2000-2009) Annual Estimates of the Population (2010-2017) No link available (1970-1989) http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/1990s/tables/MA-99-03b.txt http://www.census.gov/popest/data/historical/2000s/vintage_2009/metro.html https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) All legal boundaries and names for Census geography (metropolitan statistical area, county, city, and tract) are as of January 1, 2010, released beginning November 30, 2010, by the U.S. Census Bureau. A Priority Development Area (PDA) is a locally-designated area with frequent transit service, where a jurisdiction has decided to concentrate most of its housing and jobs growth for development in the foreseeable future. PDA boundaries are current as of August 2019. For more information on PDA designation see http://gis.abag.ca.gov/website/PDAShowcase/.

Population estimates for Bay Area counties and cities are from the California Department of Finance, which are as of January 1st of each year. Population estimates for non-Bay Area regions are from the U.S. Census Bureau. Decennial Census years reflect population as of April 1st of each year whereas population estimates for intercensal estimates are as of July 1st of each year. Population estimates for Bay Area tracts are from the decennial Census (1970 -2010) and the American Community Survey (2008-2012 5-year rolling average; 2010-2014 5-year rolling average; 2013-2017 5-year rolling average). Estimates of population density for tracts use gross acres as the denominator.

Population estimates for Bay Area PDAs are from the decennial Census (1970 - 2010) and the American Community Survey (2006-2010 5 year rolling average; 2010-2014 5-year rolling average; 2013-2017 5-year rolling average). Population estimates for PDAs are derived from Census population counts at the tract level for 1970-1990 and at the block group level for 2000-2017. Population from either tracts or block groups are allocated to a PDA using an area ratio. For example, if a quarter of a Census block group lies with in a PDA, a quarter of its population will be allocated to that PDA. Tract-to-PDA and block group-to-PDA area ratios are calculated using gross acres. Estimates of population density for PDAs use gross acres as the denominator.

Annual population estimates for metropolitan areas outside the Bay Area are from the Census and are benchmarked to each decennial Census. The annual estimates in the 1990s were not updated to match the 2000 benchmark.

The following is a list of cities and towns by geographical area: Big Three: San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland Bayside: Alameda, Albany, Atherton, Belmont, Belvedere, Berkeley, Brisbane, Burlingame, Campbell, Colma, Corte Madera, Cupertino, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Fairfax, Foster City, Fremont, Hayward, Hercules, Hillsborough, Larkspur, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mill Valley, Millbrae, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Newark, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Piedmont, Pinole, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Richmond, Ross, San Anselmo, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Pablo, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sausalito, South San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Tiburon, Union City, Vallejo, Woodside Inland, Delta and Coastal: American Canyon, Antioch, Benicia, Brentwood, Calistoga, Clayton, Cloverdale, Concord, Cotati, Danville, Dixon, Dublin, Fairfield, Gilroy, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Morgan Hill, Napa, Novato, Oakley, Orinda, Petaluma, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Rio Vista, Rohnert Park, San Ramon, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, St. Helena, Suisun City, Vacaville, Walnut Creek, Windsor, Yountville Unincorporated: all unincorporated towns

These data are from the 20-, 15-, and 5-percent samples of the 1970 United States Census of Population and Housing, and contain tabulations of population characteristics such as education, occupation, income, citizenship, and vocational training. Twenty selected geographic summary areas -- including states, counties, standard metropolitan statistical areas, urbanized areas, and places -- constitute the units of observation. Separate tallies are shown for whites, Blacks, Hispanic American (referred to as Spanish Americans in the 1970 Census), and the total population.