The mean center of the United States population is determined by the United States Census Bureau from the results of each national census. The Bureau defines it as follows:
After moving roughly west by south during the 19th century, the shift in the mean center of population during the 20th century was less pronounced, moving west and south. Nearly 79% of the overall southerly movement happened between 1950 and 2000.
One occasional confusion is the misconception that the point splits the US population into two equal halves, such that half of Americans live east of the point, and the other half west of it, however, this is actually a property of the median center of US population, which is not weighted by geographic distance and lies in Gibson County, Indiana.
Location information since 1790 US Census County Location description Decimal coordinates Distance from previous point 1790 Kent County, Maryland 23 miles east of Baltimore n/a 1800 Howard County, Maryland 18 miles west of Baltimore 52 miles (84 km) 1810 Loudoun County, Virginia 40 miles west-northwest of Washington, D.C. 47 miles (75 km) 1820 Hardy County, West Virginia 16 miles east of Moorefield 64 miles (103 km) 1830 Grant County, West Virginia 19 miles west-southwest of Moorefield 51 miles (81 km) 1840 Upshur County, West Virginia 16 miles south of Clarksburg 70 miles (113 km) 1850 Wirt County, West Virginia 23 miles southeast of Parkersburg 70 miles (113 km) 1860 Pike County, Ohio 20 miles southeast of Chillicothe 103 miles (166 km) 1870 Highland County, Ohio 48 miles northeast of Cincinnati 54 miles (87 km) 1880 Boone County, Kentucky 8 miles southwest of Cincinnati 74 miles (119 km) 1890 Decatur County, Indiana 20 miles east of Columbus 61 miles (99 km) 1900 Bartholomew County, Indiana 6 miles southeast of Columbus 18 miles (30 km) 1910 Monroe County, Indiana in the city of Bloomington 50 miles (80 km) 1920 Owen County, Indiana 8 miles south-southeast of Spencer 13 miles (20 km) 1930 Greene County, Indiana 3 miles northeast of Linton 29 miles (46 km) 1940 Sullivan County, Indiana 2 miles east-southeast of Carlisle 17 miles (27 km) 1950 Richland County, IllinoisClay County, Illinois 8 miles north-northwest of Olney3 miles northeast of Louisville 54 miles (87 km)69 miles (110 km) 1960 Clinton County, Illinois 6.5 miles northwest of Centralia 58 miles (93 km) 1970 St. Clair County, Illinois 5 miles east-southeast of Mascoutah 34 miles (55 km) 1980 Jefferson County, Missouri 0.3 mile west of DeSoto 60 miles (96 km) 1990 Crawford County, Missouri 9.7 miles southeast of Steelville 44 miles (71 km) 2000 Phelps County, Missouri 2.8 miles east of Edgar Springs 2000 U.S. Population Centered in Phelps County, Mo. , a U.S. Census Bureau press release. 41 miles (66 km) 2010 Texas County, Missouri 2.7 miles northeast of Plato Centers of Population for the 2010 Census, U.S. Census Bureau. 25 miles (40 km)2020Wright County, Missouri 15 miles northeast of Hartville 12 miles (19 km)
See also Center of population Geographic center of the United States Geographic center of the contiguous United States
References