The United States Military Academy at West Point in Orange County, NY, was established on March 16, 1802.  Orange County's population  had grown from 18,492 in 1790 to 401,324 in 2020.

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The United States Military Academy at West Point—often referred to as just "West Point"—is the oldest continuously occupied military installation in the United States. During the American Revolution, Continental Army soldiers occupied the site on a plateau overlooking a bend in New York's Hudson River. In 1778, the fortification's soldiers—and a 65-ton metal chain spanning the Hudson River—deterred British ships from using the waterway to move troops and supplies into New York. A year later, General George Washington chose West Point as his headquarters. After the war, military cadets visited West Point for artillery training. Congress authorized and funded the United States Military Academy at West Point with passage of the Military Peace Establishment Act of 1802, which President Thomas Jefferson signed into law on March 16, 1802. The academy officially opened its doors on July 4, 1802. In October 1802, Joseph Gardner Swift became the academy's first graduate. Since that time, some of the nation's most legendary military leaders have attended West Point, including Civil War Union Generals Ulysses S. Grant, George McClellan, George Meade, and William T. Sherman; World War I Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces—and U.S. Census Bureau alumni—John J. "Black Jack" Pershing; World War II Supreme Allied Commander and President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower; World War II and Korean War Generals Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley; Vietnam War Generals William Westmoreland and Creighton Abrams; and more recently Operation Desert Storm's "Stormin" Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.

Four decades after the opening of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft founded the United States Naval Academy on October 10, 1845. Established without congressional funding, the academy was situated on the grounds of Fort Severn, which had been built to guard Annapolis, MD, during the War of 1812. The academy's earliest midshipmen completed a 5-year course of study involving lessons in the classroom and at sea, including hands-on seamanship lessons aboard the historic USS Constitution. Today, approximately 1,000 midshipmen graduate every year from the Naval Academy with commissions as ensigns in the U.S. Navy or second lieutenants in the U.S. Marine Corps. Notable alumni include the Spanish-American War's Admiral George Dewey; World War II Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and Raymond A. Spruance; more than 50 astronauts including Alan Shepard and Wally Schirra; President Jimmy Carter; and Vietnam War naval aviator, senator, and presidential candidate John McCain.

The United States Coast Guard Academy traces its roots to the founding of the School of Instruction of the Revenue Cutter Service in New Bedford, MA, in 1876. Cadets spent time in the classroom and at sea to prepare for work in the nation's armed customs enforcement service that Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton created in 1790. The school moved to Curtis Bay, MD, in 1900 and then Fort Trumbull in New London, CT, in 1910. Following the 1915 merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and United States Life Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard, the school was renamed the Coast Guard Academy. In 1932, cadets moved from the campus at Fort Trumbull to its present location along the Thames River in New London, CT. In 2023, 247 graduates received degrees and commissions to protect American coasts, provide humanitarian and life-saving services, and patrol international waterways. Just a few of the Coast Guard Academy's notable alumni include astronaut Andre Douglas; martial artist, actor, and professional kickboxer Don "The Dragon" Wilson; U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1979–1981) G. William Miller; the first African American promoted to flag rank in the U.S. Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Erroll M. Brown; distinguished World War II and Korean War veteran U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier General Donald M. Schmuck; superintendents of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and numerous commandants of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy originated with the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 that established the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps on March 15, 1938. Following a brief period of classroom training, the majority of training took place at sea, in shipyards, and and working with stevedoring companies. In 1942, Congress appropriated funds to establish a permanent land-based academy in Kings Point, NY. On September 30, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the campus as thousands of midshipmen attended an abbreviated course of study to supply much-needed merchant marine officers to direct shipping during World War II. Midshipmen also completed an accelerated course of study during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Today, the Merchant Marine Academy's midshipmen and graduates continue to play a critical role transporting people and supplies for the U.S. military as well as emergency relief supplies for people in need around the world.

The nation's newest service academy is the United States Air Force Academy. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the academy when he signed legislation authorizing its construction in El Paso County, CO, on April 1, 1954. Air Force Academy cadets complete a 4-year course of study, earn a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force. In June 2023, more than 900 cadets graduated from the academy in a ceremony held at the famed Falcon Stadium. These newly minted Air Force and Space Force officers joined the ranks of notable alumni that includes dozens of astronauts; professional athletes; business leaders; government leaders; and Air Force generals and chiefs of staff.

You can learn more about our nation's military service academies using census data and records. For example:

• The United States Military Academy at West Point is located in Orange County, NY. "West Point" is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. It sits at a strategically important plateau along the Hudson River that General George Washington ordered to be fortified during the American Revolution. In 1790, Orange County, NY, had a population of 18,492. It reached 103,859 in 1900 and 401,324 in 2020. West Point, NY, is a census designated place within Orange County, NY. Between 2010 and 2020, West Point's population grew from 6,763 to 7,341.
  
  
• The United States Air Force Academy is located in El Paso County, CO. In 1870, 987 people lived in El Paso County. Following the academy's founding in 1954, the county grew from 74,523 in 1950 to 142,643 in 1960. Today, El Paso County is home to large military-related employers, including Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, and the Air Force Academy which have helped the county's population grow to an estimated 740,567 people in 2022.
  
  
• The United States Merchant Marine Academy is in Kings Point, NY. Incorporated in 1924, Kings Point had a population of 1,294 in 1930. After the founding of the Merchant Marine Academy in 1943, the village's population nearly doubled from 1,247 in 1940 to 2,445 in 1950. More recently, Kings Point, NY, had a population of 5,617 people in 2022.
  
  
• Except for a 4-year period during the American Civil War (refer to "Did you know?" below), Annapolis, MD, has been home to the United States Naval Academy since 1845. Founded in 1649, Annapolis served as the capital of the United States from 1783 and 1784. Between 1820 and 1900, the population of Annapolis, MD, grew from 2,260 to 7,657 people. The city reached 10,047 in 1950. In 2022, the Maryland state capital had an estimated population of 40,648.
  
  
• The United States Coast Guard Academy has been located in New London, CT, since 1910. Between 1910 and 1950, the city's population grew from 19,659 to 30,551. In 2022, New London was home to an estimated 27,980 people.
  
  
• Many famous Americans studied at the U.S. Military, Air Force, Naval, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine Academies, for example:
  
  
  • Legendary military leaders to graduate from the nation's service academies include West Point's Douglas MacArthur, William T. Sherman, and George A. Custer, while Chester W. Nimitz and James B. Stockdale graduated from the Naval Academy.
    
    
  • Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower graduated from West Point, while President Jimmy Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
    
    
  • U.S. Naval Academy graduate Alan Shepard was the first American in space. Project Gemini's Elliot M. See, Jr., was the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's first astronaut candidate. Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins graduated from West Point. Karol Bobko was the first Air Force Academy graduate to go into space flying on three space shuttle missions between 1983 and 1985. Bruce Melnick and Daniel Burbank were the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's first astronaut alumni.
    
    
  • Other notable service academy students include: Senator John McCain (USNA); Nobel Prize in Economics recipient Douglass C. North (USMMA); basketball coach Gregg Popovich (USAFA); "Miracle on the Hudson" airline pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (USAFA); Confederates Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee (USMAWP); author Edgar Allan Poe (USMAWP); Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves (USMAWP); Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach (USNA); businessman and presidential candidate H. Ross Perot (USNA); Antarctic explorer Richard E. Byrd (USNA); television host Montel Williams (USNA); and Admiral Linda L. Fagan (USCGA) who became the first woman in American history to lead a military service on June 1, 2022.
     
• Along with military commissions, graduates of the nation's service academies earn bachelor's degrees. Several service academies also offer graduate programs. In 2022, the American Community Survey found that of the nation's 31.3 million 18 to 24 year olds, nearly 4.2 million had a bachelor's degree. More than 81.9 million of the nation's 229.7 million people age 25 years and over had a bachelor's degree and nearly 32.3 million had a graduate or professional degree.
  
  
• The United States Military Academy at West Point and United States Naval Academy are the largest service academies with 4,594 cadets and 4,528 midshipmen enrolled in Fall 2021, respectively. The United States Air Force Academy had approximately 4,000 cadets, the Coast Guard Academy reports 1,069 cadets, and U.S. News and World Reports reported that the Merchant Marine Academy had undergraduate enrollment of 931 cadets in Fall 2022. Nationwide, the American Community Survey estimated that in 2022, 21,135,532 Americans were enrolled in college or graduate school, including 9,327,156 males and 11,808,376 females.
  
  
• Graduates of the United States' five service academies typically serve a "term of duty commitment" that consists of 5 years of active duty and 3 years of reserve duty service. These graduates are counted among the nation's 16,200,322 veterans 18 years of age and over. In 2022, the largest cohort of veterans—5,059,622—served during the Vietnam Era (no Korean War, no World War II), followed by 2,848,954 reporting their period of military service as "Gulf War (9/2001 or later)," "no Gulf War (8/1991 to 8/2001)," and "no Vietnam Era." After more than 8 decades since the United States' 1941 entry into World War II, just 115,531 "World War II (no Korean War, no Vietnam Era)" and 703 "Pre-World War II only" veterans remain.
  
  
• Did you know that the United States Naval Academy temporarily moved to Newport, RI, after the start of the American Civil War in April 1861? Maryland was a border state aligned with the Union during the war, but was also a slave-owning state with many Confederate sympathizers living near the Naval Academy's campus. Concerned for the safety of the academy's staff and students and fearing the school's training ship—the historic USS Constitution—made a tempting target, Naval Academy superintendent George S. Blake moved the midshipman from Annapolis to Newport on April 25, 1861. Students remained in Newport throughout the duration of the war and returned to Annapolis August 9, 1865. Today, Newport, RI, remains an important ocean-centered city with a population of 25,163. Recognized as the "Sailing Capital of the World," Newport was the site of the America's Cup sailing races from 1930 to 1983, home to the National Sailing Hall of Fame, and starting point of the biannual Newport Bermuda Race. Although the U.S. Naval Academy was in Newport for just 4 years, the city remains home to important military installations including Naval Station Newport, the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Naval Supply Corps School, and the Naval Justice School.

On March 1, 1790, President George Washington signed the 1790 Census Act into law.

The nation's first census was taken as of the first Monday in August (August 2), 1790. U.S. marshals collected the name of the head of each family and the number of people in each household in the 13 states; the districts of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont; and the Southwest Territory.

Upon completing the count, marshals forwarded the data for 3,929,214 people to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.

Many U.S. Census Bureau employees are graduates of the nation's service academies, including two distinguished U.S. Army generals!

Lyman W.V. Kennon was born in 1858 in Providence, RI. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1881, he helped relocate the Ute people in Utah, surveyed canal routes along Mexico and Guatemala border, and charged up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. He later served as Cuba's secretary of commerce and agriculture until being sent to the Philippines.

In March 1903, the Philippine Assembly conducted a Census of the Philippine Islands to apportion government representatives. Kennon led the count in the Philippines' Iligan district. When the census concluded, Kennon turned his attention to public works projects until leaving the Philippines in 1906.

John J. "Black Jack" Pershing was born in 1869 in Laclede, MO, and graduated from West Point in 1886. After fighting in Cuba, he monitored unrest among the Moro population in the Philippines. The respectful relationship he developed with the Moros proved useful as he enumerated the Lake Lanao district during the 1903 census.

After leaving the Philippines, Pershing fought Pancho Villa in Mexico and led American troops during World War I. He retired as chief of staff of the U.S. Army in 1924.