of females among the immigrant aliens in 1920 was 42.4%, as
compared with 33.4% in the years 1910-4. For Greeks the female
percentage increased from 9 to 20, and for Italians from 5 to 48. This
suggests that the immigration of these peoples might prove to be
more permanent than in the past.
In 1917 a literacy test was imposed upon immigrants, exemptions being made in certain cases, as for example, to those who came to the United States to join relatives or who would have been subject to religious persecution at home. As a result only 15,094 illiterate immigrants 16 years of age and over, or 4.4%, were admitted in 1920. During the years 1908-17, 1,617,000 illiterate immigrants 14 years of age and over were admitted. Undoubtedly the new restriction should show in the course of the decade 1920-30 a marked effect upon the degree of illiteracy in the United States. By the Immigration Act passed in 1921 the number of immigrants admitted from any one country in the year July 1 1921 to June 20 1922, was restricted to 3% of the persons of that nationality resident in the United States in 1910. Only 358,000 immigrants, therefore, could be eligible for admittance during the year 1921-2. The United Kingdom was limited to 77,200; Germany to 68,000; Italy to 42,000; Russia to 34,200 and Poland to 25,800.
Urban and Rural Population.—The tendency of the population to concentrate in towns and cities continued unabated. In 1910 the percentage of the pop. living in urban territory (that is, in cities and other incorporated places of 2,500 inhabitants or more, and in towns of that size in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) was 46.3 per cent. In 1920 the percentage was 51.4, showing that more than one-half of the pop. was then living in urban territory as defined by the Census Bureau.
Table 7 shows the pop. of cities having 50,000 inhabitants or more in 1920 with comparison for 1910.
Table 7. Cities with 50,000 Inhabitants or More.
Rank | 1920 | 1910 | Percentage increase | |
1 | New York, N. Y. | 5,620,048 | 4,766,883 | 17.9 |
2 | Chicago, Ill. | 2,701,705 | 2,185,283 | 23.6 |
3 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,823,779 | 1,549,008 | 17.7 |
4 | Detroit, Mich. | 993,678 | 465,766 | 113.3 |
5 | Cleveland, O. | 796,841 | 560,663 | 42.1 |
6 | St. Louis, Mo. | 772,897 | 687,029 | 12.5 |
7 | Boston, Mass. | 748,060 | 670,585 | 11.6 |
8 | Baltimore, Md. | 733,826 | 558,485 | 31.4 |
9 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 588,343 | 533,905 | 10.2 |
10 | Los Angeles, Cal. | 576,673 | 319,198 | 80.7 |
11 | Buffalo, N. Y. | 506,775 | 423,715 | 19.6 |
12 | San Francisco, Cal. | 506,676 | 416,912 | 21.5 |
13 | Milwaukee, Wis. | 457,147 | 373,857 | 22.3 |
14 | Washington, D. C. | 437,571 | 331,069 | 32.2 |
15 | Newark, N. J. | 414,524 | 347,469 | 19.3 |
16 | Cincinnati, O. | 401,247 | 363,591 | 10.4 |
17 | New Orleans, La. | 387,219 | 339,075 | 14.2 |
18 | Minneapolis, Minn. | 380,582 | 301,408 | 26.3 |
19 | Kansas City, Mo. | 324,410 | 248,381 | 30.6 |
20 | Seattle, Wash. | 315,312 | 237,194 | 32.9 |
21 | Indianapolis, Ind. | 314,194 | 233,650 | 34.5 |
22 | Jersey City, N. J. | 298,103 | 267,779 | 11.3 |
23 | Rochester, N. Y. | 295,750 | 218,149 | 35.6 |
24 | Portland, Ore. | 258,288 | 207,214 | 24.6 |
25 | Denver, Col. | 256,491 | 213,381 | 20.2 |
26 | Toledo, O. | 243,164 | 168,497 | 44.3 |
27 | Providence, R. I. | 237,595 | 224,326 | 5.9 |
28 | Columbus, O. | 237,031 | 181,511 | 30.6 |
29 | Louisville, Ky. | 234,891 | 223,928 | 4.9 |
30 | St. Paul, Minn. | 234,698 | 214,744 | 9.3 |
31 | Oakland, Cal. | 216,261 | 150,174 | 44.0 |
32 | Akron, O. | 208,435 | 69,067 | 301.8 |
33 | Atlanta, Ga. | 200,616 | 154,839 | 29.6 |
34 | Omaha, Neb. | 191,601 | 124,096 | 54.4 |
35 | Worcester, Mass. | 179,754 | 145,986 | 23.1 |
36 | Birmingham, Ala. | 178,806 | 132,685 | 34.8 |
37 | Syracuse, N. Y. | 171,717 | 137,249 | 25.1 |
38 | Richmond, Va. | 171,667 | 127,628 | 34.5 |
39 | New Haven, Conn. | l62,537 | 133,605 | 21.7 |
40 | Memphis, Tenn. | 162,351 | 131,105 | 23.8 |
41 | San Antonio, Tex. | 161,379 | 96,614 | 67.0 |
42 | Dallas, Tex. | 158,976 | 92,104 | 72.6 |
43 | Dayton, O. | 152,559 | 116,577 | 30.9 |
44 | Bridgeport, Conn. | 143,555 | 102,054 | 40.7 |
45 | Houston, Tex. | 138,276 | 78,800 | 75.5 |
46 | Hartford, Conn. | 138,036 | 98,915 | 39.6 |
47 | Scranton, Pa. | 137,783 | 129,867 | 6.1 |
48 | Grand Rapids, Mich. | 137,634 | 112,571 | 22.3 |
49 | Paterson, N. J. | 135,875 | 125,600 | 8.2 |
50 | Youngstown, O. | 132,358 | 79,066 | 67.4 |
51 | Springfield, Mass. | 129,614 | 88,926 | 45.8 |
52 | Des Moines, Ia. | 126,468 | 86,368 | 46.4 |
53 | New Bedford, Mass. | 121,217 | 96,652 | 25.4 |
54 | Fall River, Mass. | 120,485 | 119,295 | 1.0 |
55 | Trenton, N. J. | 119,289 | 96,815 | 23.2 |
56 | Nashville, Tenn. | 118,342 | 110,364 | 7.2 |
57 | Salt Lake City, Utah | 118,110 | 92,777 | 27.3 |
58 | Camden, N. J. | 116,309 | 94,538 | 23.0 |
59 | Norfolk, Va. | 115,777 | 67,452 | 71.6 |
60 | Albany, N. Y. | 113,344 | 100,253 | 13.1 |
6l | Lowell, Mass. | 112,759 | 106,294 | 6.1 |
62 | Wilmington, Del. | 110,168 | 87,411 | 26.0 |
63 | Cambridge, Mass. | 109,694 | 104,839 | 4.6 |
64 | Reading, Pa. | 107,784 | 96,071 | 12.2 |
65 | Fort Worth, Tex. | 106,482 | 73,312 | 45.2 |
66 | Spokane, Wash. | 104,437 | 104,402 | |
67 | Kansas City, Kan. | 101,177 | 82,331 | 22.9 |
68 | Yonkers, N. Y. | 100,176 | 79,803 | 25.5 |
69 | Lynn, Mass. | 99,148 | 89,336 | 11.0 |
70 | Duluth, Minn. | 98,917 | 78,466 | 26.1 |
71 | Tacoma, Wash. | 96,965 | 83,743 | 15.8 |
72 | Elizabeth, N. J. | 95,783 | 73,409 | 30.5 |
73 | Lawrence, Mass. | 94,270 | 85,892 | 9.8 |
74 | Utica, N. Y. | 94,156 | 74,419 | 26.5 |
75 | Erie, Pa. | 93,372 | 66,525 | 40.4 |
76 | Somerville, Mass. | 93,091 | 77,236 | 20.5 |
77 | Flint, Mich. | 91,599 | 38,550 | 137.6 |
78 | Jacksonville, Fla. | 91,558 | 57,699 | 58.7 |
79 | Waterbury, Conn. | 91,715 | 73,141 | 25.4 |
80 | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 91,295 | 64,205 | 42.2 |
81 | Schenectady, N. Y. | 88,723 | 72,826 | 21.8 |
82 | Canton, O. | 87,091 | 50,217 | 73.4 |
83 | Fort Wayne, Ind. | 86,549 | 65,933 | 35.4 |
84 | Evansville, Ind. | 85,264 | 69,647 | 22.4 |
85 | Savannah, Ga. | 83,252 | 65,064 | 28.0 |
86 | Manchester, N. H. | 78,384 | 70,063 | 11.9 |
87 | St. Joseph, Mo. | 77,939 | 77,403 | 0.7 |
88 | Knoxville, Tenn. | 77,818 | 36,346 | 114.1 |
89 | El Paso, Tex. | 77,560 | 39,279 | 97.5 |
90 | Bayonne, N. J. | 76,754 | 55,545 | 38.2 |
91 | Peoria, Ill. | 76,121 | 66,950 | 13.7 |
92 | Harrisburg, Pa. | 75,917 | 64,186 | 18.3 |
93 | San Diego, Cal. | 74,683 | 39,578 | 88.7 |
94 | Wilkesbarre, Pa. | 73,833 | 67,105 | 10.0 |
95 | Allentown, Pa. | 73,502 | 51,913 | 41.6 |
96 | Wichita, Kan. | 72,217 | 52,450 | 37.7 |
97 | Tulsa, Okla. | 72,075 | 18,182 | 296.4 |
98 | Troy, N. Y. | 72,013 | 76,813 | −6.2 |
99 | Sioux City, Ia. | 71,227 | 47,828 | 48.9 |
100 | South Bend, Ind. | 70,983 | 53,684 | 32.2 |
101 | Portland, Me. | 69,272 | 58,571 | 18.3 |
102 | Hoboken, N. J. | 68,166 | 70,324 | −3.1 |
103 | Charleston, S. C. | 67,957 | 58,833 | 15.5 |
104 | Johnstown, Pa. | 67,327 | 55,482 | 21.3 |
105 | Binghamton, N. Y. | 66,800 | 48,443 | 37.9 |
106 | East St. Louis, Ill. | 66,767 | 58,547 | 14.0 |
107 | Brockton, Mass. | 66,254 | 56,878 | 16.5 |
108 | Terre Haute, Ind. | 66,083 | 58,157 | 13.6 |
109 | Sacramento, Cal. | 65,908 | 44,696 | 47.5 |
110 | Rockford, Ill. | 65,651 | 45,401 | 44.6 |
111 | Little Rock, Ark. | 65,142 | 45,941 | 41.8 |
112 | Pawtucket, R. I. | 64,248 | 51,622 | 24.5 |
113 | Passaic, N. J. | 63,841 | 54,773 | 16.6 |
114 | Saginaw, Mich. | 61,903 | 50,510 | 22.6 |
115 | Springfield, O. | 60,840 | 46,921 | 29.7 |