This volume comprises the first series of population bulletins for the states, territories, and possessions. In addition to a section for each state, the volume contains a United States summary, in which the population data for the several states are brought together.

Each State section includes the following eight tables:

1. Population of the state, urban and rural, from the earliest census to 1940
2. Population of cities of 10,000 or more from earliest census to 1940
3. Area and population of counties, urban and rural: 1920 to 1940
4. Population of counties by minor civil divisions: 1920 to 1940
5. Population of incorporated places: 1940 and 1930
6. Population of cities of 5,000 or more by wards: 1940
7. Population of metropolitan districts: 1940 and 1930
8. Population of tracted cities by census tracts: 1940

The section for the District of Columbia includes only the tables applicable to a city and the sections for the territories and possessions include only the first four to six tables. Each section includes a map of the area (state, territory, etc.) by minor divisions, and where pertinent, maps of metropolitan districts and cities by census tracts.