Most of the indigenous tribes of America lived along the rivers and on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But beginning in the 19th century, archaeology and the research of burials and the material remains of society helped determine native populations before European contact.Īpproximations for North America have ranged from 3.8 million to 18 million. Most indigenous people lived in small communities. It isn’t easy to evaluate populations in the 15th century in America. Population density map of what is now the United States (1492) But during the country’s history, these numbers haven’t stayed fixed. (1990 – 2017)Īt the moment, about 328 million people are living in the U.S, a nation that’s 9.84 million sq km (3.53 million square miles). Animated map of population density in the U.S.Population density map of what is now the United States (1492).This disparity emanates from the way our country developed, with settlers moving West and claiming larger plots of land, compelled by a sense of manifest destiny.Įxplore the population mapper for yourself and see what patterns you can find. It matches the population in just 665,000 square miles-that’s three times less than the West. The East is significantly denser than the West, even without the major metropolitan areas contained within The Coasts like Boston and New York. It takes more than two-thirds of the land area in the Western part of the country to match the population contained in just one-tenth. The Pacific and Atlantic coasts account for a third of the country’s population, coming in at over 100 million residents and encompassing many of the most populous cities, from New York to Miami, from Seattle to San Diego.

Meanwhile, Wyoming maintains two Senators, leading some to criticize the apportionment of political representation. Our county is home to parts of four Congressional districts to Wyoming’s one. Wyoming vs Seattle is no contest, with King County outmatching the Western state in population by almost 4:1 in a land area 42 times smaller. Indeed, the map almost exactly outlines what is considered the greater metropolitan area, including counties in New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. It may come as no surprise that one of the densest area besides New York City is the area immediately around it. That system would be impossible to replicate in most of the country, leaving many dependent on single-occupancy vehicles to travel between their destinations. New York City’s subway system, for example, serves an annual ridership of over 1.7 billion with just 232 miles of track. Such low density makes providing services like public transit largely impractical. That’s a relative population density of 1346:1. Moving westward to the sparsely populated West, it takes the combined effort of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska-that’s 631,000 square miles-to match the population of The Big Apple. But it’s not until the Portland metro area is included that we match the population of a single city. Washington State is closer, with a population of 7 million. Seattle, by contrast, is home to just 650,000 residents across 142 square miles. New York City is the most populous city in the country and 21 st in the world with 8.18 million residents across 469 square miles. This map helps visualize density on a grander scale, allowing users to compare a City to an entire region and elevate the way we think about planning.īelow I explore several of my findings: New York City vs. “Density” is a word we throw around a lot in conversations about urbanism, but on a local scale (urban centers vs single family neighborhoods, Seattle vs the suburbs). This interactive graphic allows users to pick a population center (e.g., New York City, Wyoming, the Coasts) and compare its relative density to any area of the United States by selecting a County and watching the map fill in the surrounding area until an equal population is covered. The good folks at Slate introduced a creative mapping tool, dubbed the Equal Population Mapper.

Map of population density of us 2015