Population living in urban versus rural areas. (Figs. 1, 2)

Population living in coastal versus non-coastal counties. (Fig. 3)

Change in population density. (Fig. 4)

In 1990, about 190 million people lived in urban areas in the United States, and 60 million in rural areas. While urban or metropolitan area population nearly doubled from 1950 to 1990, population in rural areas grew less rapidly. Thus, the fraction of the population living in rural areas declined from about one-third to about one-quarter.

Just over half of the Nation’s population lives in coastal counties. As both coastal and non-coastal counties grew, the percentage of the U.S. population in coastal counties remained consistent from the 1960s to the present.

From 1990 to 1997, population density increased in about two-thirds of counties, and declined in about one-tenth. Counties with decreasing population are found in a broad band throughout the central United States, and scattered through the East; very few counties with decreasing density are in the West. Major growth concentrations are noticeable in the New York–Washington corridor, Florida, and California.

Population in Urban & Rural Areas (1) Technical Note	Urban & Rural Residence as a percentage of total U.S. Population (2) Technical Note
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau	SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

Population in Coastal Counties (3) Technical Note

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

Change in population per square mile, 1950 - 1990 (4) Technical Note

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau