# Percentage of Americans in volved in agriculture...1900 vs 2000 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359 "2005-10-09T01:08:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359/1 "2005-10-09T01:08:13Z")
Hi guys n gals. I need to know what percentage of the US population was involved in agriculture in approx. 1900 and then again in 2000. I know you won’t let me down! ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359/2 "2005-10-09T04:24:15Z")
Try the [US Census Bureau](http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html). Some quick browsing would indicate that it’s in there. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359/3 "2005-10-09T05:06:06Z")
More generally, [the Statistical Abstract of the United States](http://www.census.gov/statab/www/) is a terrific resource for such questions. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359/4 "2005-10-09T08:47:19Z")
[This census data](http://www.census.gov/statab/hist/HS-29.pdf) only goes back to 1929, unfortunately. The percentage of Americans involved in agriculture dropped from about 22% in '29 to about 3% in 2000. What I find even more interesting is that the actual number of Americans working in agriculture in 2000 is only 32% of the 1929 count (3,382,000 vs. 10,450,000). ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359/5 "2005-10-09T20:06:55Z")
There’s a 2 volume set called Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, published in 1976. Link: [http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html](http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html) From the Volume 2 labor force data: 1870: 47.6% of the employed were in agriculture 1900: 35.7% of the employed were in agriculture 1970: 3.6% of the employed were in agriculture The population shares are lower, since not everyone is employed. raw data: ```auto 1870 1900 1970 ag 5949 47.6% 10382 35.7% 2750 3.6% nonag 6557 52.4% 18691 64.3% 73804 96.4% lab. Force 12506 100.0% 29073 100.00% 76554 noninst population 28229 57950 139130 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percentage-of-americans-in-volved-in-agriculture-1900-vs-2000/325359/6 "2005-10-09T20:13:32Z")
In the preceding table, for “labor force” read “total employed”.