Population of the 5 Regions of the United States 1790-2026
Chart by AwesomePotato170 Last updated: Sunday February 1st, 2026
This is a line chart displaying the growth of the populations of the Southeast, Pacific Northwest, West, Northeast, and Midwest from the 1790 census to 2026.
All years ending in 0 use census data; other years are official estimates also from the Census Bureau.
For the first few decades, the Pacific Northwest and West are documented as having zero residents. This is obviously incorrect, as thousands of Native Americans are known to have populated the west half of the United States, but this is primarily going off of census (which Native Americans didn't participate in) results.
The definitions of each region are decided by me after research; please don't come for me in my sleep.
I'd like a legend on the chart, but otherwise, it's a good graph
Interestingly, the Midwest was once the most populous region in the era of the USA's strongest immigration considering that a lot of immigrations moved to New York City especially Europeans such as Germans, the Irish, and Italians using Ellis Island as the port of entry
Interestingly, the Midwest was once the most populous region in the era of the USA's strongest immigration considering that a lot of immigrations moved to New York City especially Europeans such as Germans, the Irish, and Italians using Ellis Island as the port of entry