The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

In 1980, the U.S. Bureau of the Census reported that
the total population of the United States was 226.5
million people. Ten years later, it reported a total of
248.7 million people. This growth represented a 9.8
percent rate of increase for the decade, or an aver-
age annual rate increase of 0.94 percent. The 9.8
percent rate of increase during the 1980’s was the
second-lowest rate for a decade in U.S. history, the
lowest being 7.3 percent during the depression de-
cade of the 1930’s. In contrast, the population had
increased by 11.4 percent during the 1970’s, by 13.4
percent in the 1960’s, and by 18.5 percent during
the baby boom of the 1950’s. During the three previ-
ous centuries of American history, the population
had almost always grown by more than 30 percent

per decade, with several decades witnessing a growth

rate of more than 40 percent.

The crude birth rate of the 1980’s decade was ap-

proximately 16, meaning for every one thousand

people living in the United States, there were sixteen

births per year. This birth rate was low in comparison

with the baby-boom period (around 1946-1965). The

rate, nevertheless, was slightly higher than that of the

1970’s, during which the birth rate was about 15. Like

earlier periods, the birth rate of the 1980’s varied con-

siderably among ethnic groups. The white birth rate

was about 15, compared with an African American

birth rate of about 20. The death rate was significantly

lower than the birth rate. In 1989, there were 8.6

deaths per 1,000 people, a rate that changed little be-

The Eighties in America Demographics of the United States
283

United States Population by Census Division, 1980-1990

In the decade from 1980 to 1990, the United States’ population increased by 9.8 percent, climbing from

226,542,199 to 248,709,873, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The greatest gains were in the South At-

lantic, Mountain, and Pacific Divisions, particularly in the states of Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, and

California.

Census Division Population 1980 Population 1990 % Increase

Total United States 226,542,199 248,709,873 9.8

New England:Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut

12,348,920 13,206,943 6.9

Middle Atlantic:New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania

36,787,896 37,602,286 2.2

East North Central:Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,

Michigan, Wisconsin

41,682,908 42,008,942 0.8

West North Central:Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,

North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska,

Kansas

17,184,090 17,659,690 2.8

South Atlantic:Delaware, Maryland, District of

Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida

36,957,453 43,566,853 17.9

East South Central:Kentucky, Tennessee,

Alabama, Mississippi

14,666,142 15,176,284 3.5

West South Central:Arkansas, Louisiana,

Oklahoma, Texas

23,743,473 26,702,793 12.5

Mountain:Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado,

New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada

11,371,502 13,658,776 20.1

Pacific:Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska,

Hawaii

31,799,815 39,127,306 23.0