U.S. Census Bureau: Celebrating 245 Years of America

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As we celebrate this Independence Day, we reflect on how our Founding Fathers enshrined in our Constitution the importance of statistics as a vital tool for measuring America.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

The following facts are possible thanks to responses to U.S. Census Bureau surveys.

Did You Know?
2.5 million
The estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation in July 1776.
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: 1789-1945

331,449,281
The nation’s population on April 1, 2020.
Source: 2020 Census

56
The number of signers of the Declaration of Independence.
It is also worth noting that:
John Hancock, a merchant by trade, was the first signer. In 2019, more than 1 million business establishments nationally with paid employees like Hancock were in the retail trade industry.
Source: 2019 Geography Area Series: County Business Patterns, Table CB1900CBP

Benjamin Franklin, who represented Pennsylvania, was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence at age 70. Pennsylvania had a resident population of 13,002,700 on April 1, 2020. Edward Rutledge of South Carolina was the youngest signer at age 26. South Carolina had a resident population of 5,118,425 on April 1, 2020
Source: 2020 Census

Patriotic Places
Counties and census incorporated places that contain the word “Liberty” in the name.
Source: Vintage 2019 Population Estimates

Counties that have “Union” in the name.
Source: Vintage 2019 Population Estimates