In 1790, the total population of Massachusetts was 378,787. It ranked fifth in size among the 13 colonies. By 1860, it had grown by nearly 325%, to over 1.2 million (1,231,066) and still ranked fifth overall. But by 1980, almost 200 years after the first census, Massachusetts had fallen to 11th largest in size, with a reported population of 5,737,093.
