FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION HARRY L. HOPKINS Federal Emergency R«lief Administrator UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF CENSUS OCTOBER 1933 REPORT NUMBER TWO Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION HARRY L. HOPKINS Federal Emergency Relief Administrator UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF CENSUS OCTOBER 1933 URBAN AND RURAL AREAS SHOWING FOR THE UNITED STATES BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS AND BY STATES THE URBAN-RURAL DISTRIBUTION OF DETAILED DATA CONCERNING COLOR AND SIZE OF RELIEF FAMILIES, AND THE AGE. COLOR, AND SEX OF PERSONS IN RELIEF FAMILIES; AND PRESENTING MORE LIMITED RELIEF DATA BY COUNTIES AND CITIES UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 11934 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D.C., November 15, 198^ SIR: I transmit herewith the second report covering the Unemploy­ ment Relief Census of October 1933. This report deals specifically with the urban-rural distribution, the data covering families and persons on relief during the month of October 1933. It contains, in addition, a table presenting summary relief statistics by counties and a similar table for each of the cities having a population of 25,000 or more in 1930. The survey was conducted under the general supervision of Howard B. Myers, Assistant Director in charge of research. Charles F. Beach directed the field work and the tabulating of the basic material. Emerson Ross served in an advisory capacity. This report was drafted by Janet F. Nelson, Frederick F. Stephan, and Dorothy S. Thomas. The services of others not specifically mentioned are ac­ knowledged with appreciation as well. Respectfully, CoRRINGTON GlLL, Assistant Administrator Division of Research, Statistics and Finance. Hon, HARRY L. HOPKINS, Federal Emergency Relief Administrator. m Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TABLE OF CONTENTS SUBJECT Introduction _ 1 Summary 2 Location of urban and rural relief families 2 Color or race of persons in urban and rural relief families 6 Size of urban and rural relief families —. 6 Age of persons in urban and rural relief families 8 Sex of persons in urban and rural relief families ^ 9 Limitations of the data and of the comparisons 9 Method of collecting data__ _. 10 States included in the various geographic divisions 11 Schedule of unemployment relief census 23 LIST OF MAPS Map 1. Percentage of population on public unemployment relief, October 1933.. VIII LIST OF CHARTS Chart la. Number of families in urban areas receiving public unemployment relief, October 1933, by States and the District of Columbia 4 lb. Number of families in rural areas receiving public unemployment relief, October 1933, by States _ __ _ 5 2. Percentage of whites, Negroes, and other races on relief, October 1933, in urban and rural areas. (Percentages are estimated on the basis of the total population and population of each racial group in urban and rural areas in the 1930 Population Census.) 7 LIST OF TABLES Table A. Percentage of total population on relief, October 1933, by States and urban and rural areas (percentages are estimated on the basis of the 1930 population census) _ 12 B. Percentage of total population on relief, October 1933, by urban areas and cities grouped according to size (percentages are estimated on the basis of the 1930 population census) 14 C. Percentage of total Negro and total white population on relief, October 1933, by States and urban and rural areas for States having 100,000 or more Negroes in 1930 (percentages are estimated on the basis of the 1930 population census, and States are ranked in order of size of Negro population in 1930) 14 D. Percentage of total population of "other races" and of total white population on relief, October 1933, by States and urban areas for States having 50,000 or more persons of "other races" in 1930 (per­ centages are estimated on the basis of the 1930 population census and States are ranked in order of size of population of "other races" in 1930) 15 E. Percentage of one-person families on relief to total families on relief, October 1933, by color or race and urban and rural areas for the United States - 16 F. Comparison of percentage of 2-, 3-, or 4-person families and of 5-or- more-person families to all families of 2 or more persons in the Unem­ ployment Relief Census, October 1933, and the Population Census, 1930, by color or race and urban and rural areas for the United States 16 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VI CONTEXTS Pace G. Comparison of percentage of persons in specified age groups in relief families, October 1933, and in the total population, 1930, by color or race and urban and rural areas by States (percentage of all age groups combined equals 100 for each urban and rural area for both relief population and total population) 17 H. Percentage of population of specified age groups on relief, October 1933, by color or race and urban and rural areas for the United States (percentages are estimated on the basis of the 1930 Popula­ tion Census) 20 I. Percentage of Negroes over 65 years of age and of whites over 65 years of age on relief by States and urban and rural areas for States having 100,000 or more Negroes in 1930 (percentages are estimated on the basis of the,number of Negroes and whites, respectively, over 65 years of age in the 1930 Population Census and States are ranked in order of size of total Negro population in 1930) 21 J. Comparison of sex ratio (males per 100 females) of persons in relief families, October 1933, and of persons in the total population, 1930, by color or race and urban and rural areas for the United States 22 UNITED STATES SUMMARY AND MAIN GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS Table 1. Number of relief families, October 1933, by color or race and urban and rural areas 25 2. Number of relief families, October 1933, by size and color or race and urban and rural areas 26 3. Number of persons in relief families, October 1933, by age, color or race, and sex, by urban and rural areas 28 4. Comparison of persons in relief families, October 1933, by age, color or race, and sex, and urban and rural areas, with all persons enumer­ ated in the Census of Population, 1930, as shown in percentages.. 36 STATES 5. Number of relief families, October 1933, by color or race and urban and rural areas 44 6. Number of relief families, October 1933, by size and color or race and urban and rural areas 48 7. Number of persons in relief families, October 1933, by age, color or race, and sex and urban and rural areas _. 62 8. Comparison of persons in relief families, October 1933, by age, color or race, and sex, and urban and rural areas with all persons enumerated in the Census of Population, 1930, as shown in percentages 94 COUNTIES 9. Number of relief families and number of persons in relief families, October 1933, by color or race and urban and rural areas 106 CITIES WITH POPULATION OF 25,000 OR MORE IN 1930 10. Number of relief families and number of persons in relief families, October 1933, by color or race and urban and rural areas 212 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF CENSUS, OCTOBER 1933 INTRODUCTION The number of persons receiving public unemployment relief in any month is affected by many conditions. The extent of unemployment, the possibility of seasonal and stop-gap employment, the availability of savings and other family resources, the amount of private relief, the policies and resources of public relief agencies, including those not specifically charged with unemployment relief, and many other factors influence the number of persons accepted as eligible for relief at any one time. These conditions vary among cities, among coun­ ties, and among States. Consequently different localities show vary­ ing proportions of their population on relief. In order to secure a cross-section picture of the relief situation and to provide an accurate description of the relief population by age, sex, race, family size and composition for cities, counties, and States, an unemployment relief census was taken in October 1933 by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the several State and local relief administrations. The collection of this simple but comprehensive information was undertaken as the first of a series of surveys designed to provide a basis of essential data for relief administration, program planning, and legislation. The principal results of the Unemployment Relief Cen­ sus were released two months after the census began and were published as Report No. One in May 1934. The first report presented the number of families by size and race, and the. number of persons by age, sex, and race, for geographic divisions, for States, and for cities having a population of 100,000 or more persons in 1930. This, the second report, presents similar data for the rural and urban areas within geographic divisions and States. It also includes somewhat less detailed information for cities of 25,000 or more inhabitants and for all counties. The data for rural and urban areas and for the smaller cities are shown in a form as far as possible comparable with the analysis in Report No.