Annual U.S. Population by Federal Reserve Districts

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 created the Reserve Bank Organizing Committee which divided the counties of the United States into twelve Federal Reserve Districts each with its own Federal Reserve Bank. The size and vitality of these districts varied. Some were densely populated with substantial urban areas and large industries. Others were sparsely populated and largely rural with the preponderance of the population working in agriculture. Some grew rapidly. Others grew slowly. To help understand the Fed’s role in the evolution of the U.S. economy, we construct a dataset with estimated annual population in each Fed district from 1890 to 1950.