Remember 1940, when California was the most educated state?

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1940 map

Yesterday the Census released data from 1940 after 72 years of confidentiality expired.  California Watch has drilled down to find out how our home state fared back then. At the time the entire population of California (6.9 million) was less than the population of Los Angeles County today. What else? Back in 1940 the state had the “highest rate of college graduates among states, 6.8 percent, and was bested only by Washington, D.C.’s 11.1 percent.” More great stuff here.

The 1940 Census has been a big hit online, getting 22 million hits in its first four hours and crashing the site. (They’ve since added more servers). You can explore the Census here. And watch a video about the project below.