In response to numerous requests, the U. S. Bureau of the Census is pleased to announce the release of the map 1990 Population Distribution in the United States, commonly known as the "Nighttime Map." This product traditionally has been very popular with Census Bureau customers.
The 1990 version reflects population data from the 1990 Decennial Census: each "dot" represents 7,500 persons. The "Nighttime Map" is part of the GE-90 map series (GE-90 No. 5); in this map series Alaska and Hawaii are in more relative positions to the conterminous U.S., shown in the upper left and lower left map corners respectively than in earlier map series.
The U.S. land area is shown in black against a midnight blue background in
which the population locations are shown as if lights were visible
during the night sky. White dots coalesce to form the urban
population concentrations.
The sheet size is 27.8" x 23.2". The map scale for the conterminous
U.S. is 1:7,500,000. Alaska is
portrayed at a scale of 1:16,375,000 and Hawaii is shown at a
scale of 1:9,995,000.
This map is no longer available for purchase. For more information on maps that are available, please see our Maps Available For Purchase page.