Centers of Population

The concept of the center of population as used by the U.S. Census Bureau is that of a balance point. The center of population is the point at which an imaginary, weightless, rigid, and flat (no elevation effects) surface representation of the 50 states (or 48 conterminous states for calculations made prior to 1960) and the District of Columbia would balance if weights of identical size were placed on it so that each weight represented the location of one person.

Maps

Position of the Geographic Center of Area, Mean and Median Centers of Population 2010 [PDF]
Map illustrating the geographic, mean and median centers of population for 2010.
Mean Center of Population for the United States: 1790 to 2010 [PDF]
Map illustrating the mean center of population for the United States from 1790 to 2010.
Animated Mean Center of Population for the United States: 1790 to 2010
Animated map illustrating the movement of the mean center of population for the United States from 1790 to 2010.
Median Center of Population for the United States: 1880 to 2010 [PDF]
Map illustrating the median center of population for the United States from 1880 to 2010.
Animated Median Center of Population for the United States: 1880 to 2010 - Coming Soon
Animated map illustrating the movement of the median center of population for the United States from 1790 to 2010.

Data Files

Centers of Population for the United States: 2010
Text files containing population and mean and median centers of population for the United States for the 2010 Census.
Centers of Population by State: 2010
Text file containing population and mean centers of population by state/state equivalent entity for the 2010 Census.
Centers of Population by County: 2010
State/state equivalent entity-based text files containing the mean centers of population for each county/county equivalent entity within a state/state equivalent entity for the 2010 Census.
Centers of Population by Census Tract: 2010
State/state equivalent entity-based text files containing the mean centers of population for each census tract within a state/state equivalent entity for the 2010 Census.
Centers of Population by Block Group: 2010
State/state equivalent entity-based text files containing the mean centers of population for each census block group within a state/state equivalent entity for the 2010 Census.