The American Civil War is considered the deadliest and most destructive war to have ever occurred on U.S. soil. It was a war conducted from April 1861 to April 1865 that saw the Union Army (the North) fighting against the Confederate Army (the South), with a key issue being states’ rights. The war cost the lives of approximately 620,000 soldiers (with numbers even higher when factoring in civilian deaths), or around 2% of the country’s population at the time. (These are the largest battles of the Civil War.)
Adjusted for population, this would be equivalent to six million U.S. fighters dying in battle over four years. The U.S. population today is roughly 342 million people, a significant increase from the 31 million people who inhabited the 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.
The Civil War took place as the country was expanding geographically and demographically. People were heading out west in masses, toward states like Missouri and Illinois where some settled and others continued onward to lands Mexico ceded to the United States in 1848. (Conflicts still occur over territories but rather than states’ rights in the U.S. they occur overseas, as demonstrated by the war in Gaza and the recent counterattack by Israeli airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthis.)
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 (a huge increase from the 7,000 residents it had before statehood). 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 that looks at the population of every U.S. state before and after the Civil War. (Then see if you can answer these real “Jeopardy!” questions about the U.S. population.)
Here is a look at every U.S. state population before and after the Civil War.
Alabama
- Demographic in 1860: 964,000 – ranked 13 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 997,000 – ranked 16 out of 34
Arkansas
- Demographic in 1860: 435,000 – ranked 25 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 484,000 – ranked 26 out of 34
California
- Demographic in 1860: 330,000 – ranked 26 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 560,000 – ranked 24 out of 34
Connecticut
- Demographic in 1860: 460,000 – ranked 24 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 537,000 – ranked 25 out of 34
Delaware
- Demographic in 1860: 112,000 – ranked 32 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 125,000 – ranked 33 out of 34
District of Columbia
- Demographic in 1860: 75,000 – ranked 33 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 132,000 – ranked 32 out of 34
Florida
- Demographic in 1860: 140,000 – ranked 31 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 188,000 – ranked 31 out of 34
Georgia
- Demographic in 1860: 1,057,000 – ranked 11 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,184,000 – ranked 12 out of 34
Illinois
- Demographic in 1860: 1,712,000 – ranked 4 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 2,540,000 – ranked 4 out of 34
Indiana
- Demographic in 1860: 1,350,000 – ranked 5 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,681,000 – ranked 6 out of 34
Iowa
- Demographic in 1860: 675,000 – ranked 20 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,194,000 – ranked 11 out of 34
Kentucky
- Demographic in 1860: 1,156,000 – ranked 9 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,321,000 – ranked 8 out of 34
Louisiana
- Demographic in 1860: 708,000 – ranked 17 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 727,000 – ranked 21 out of 34
Maine
- Demographic in 1860: 628,000 – ranked 22 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 627,000 – ranked 23 out of 34
Maryland
- Demographic in 1860: 687,000 – ranked 19 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 785,000 – ranked 20 out of 34
Massachusetts
- Demographic in 1860: 1,231,000 – ranked 6 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,457,000 – ranked 7 out of 34
Michigan
- Demographic in 1860: 749,000 – ranked 16 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,184,000 – ranked 13 out of 34
Minnesota
- Demographic in 1860: 172,000 – ranked 30 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 440,000 – ranked 27 out of 34
Mississippi
- Demographic in 1860: 791,000 – ranked 14 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 828,000 – ranked 18 out of 34
Missouri
- Demographic in 1860: 1,182,000 – ranked 8 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,721,000 – ranked 5 out of 34
New Hampshire
- Demographic in 1860: 326,000 – ranked 27 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 318,000 – ranked 29 out of 34
New Jersey
- Demographic in 1860: 672,000 – ranked 21 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 906,000 – ranked 17 out of 34
New York
- Demographic in 1860: 3,881,000 – ranked 1 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 4,383,000 – ranked 1 out of 34
North Carolina
- Demographic in 1860: 993,000 – ranked 12 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,071,000 – ranked 14 out of 34
Ohio
- Demographic in 1860: 2,340,000 – ranked 3 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 2,665,000 – ranked 3 out of 34
Oregon
- Demographic in 1860: 52,000 – ranked 34 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 91,000 – ranked 34 out of 34
Pennsylvania
- Demographic in 1860: 2,906,000 – ranked 2 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 3,522,000 – ranked 2 out of 34
Rhode Island
- Demographic in 1860: 175,000 – ranked 30 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 217,000 – ranked 32 out of 34
South Carolina
- Demographic in 1860: 704,000 – ranked 18 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 706,000 – ranked 22 out of 34
Tennessee
- Demographic in 1860: 1,110,000 – ranked 10 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,259,000 – ranked 9 out of 34
Texas
- Demographic in 1860: 604,000 – ranked 23 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 819,000 – ranked 19 out of 34
Vermont
- Demographic in 1860: 315,000 – ranked 28 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 331,000 – ranked 28 out of 34
Virginia
- Demographic in 1860: 1,220,000 – ranked 7 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,225,000 – ranked 10 out of 34
Wisconsin
- Demographic in 1860: 776,000 – ranked 15 out of 34
- Demographic in 1870: 1,055,000 – ranked 15 out of 34
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