| STATE: | SLAVEHOLDERS: | FREE FAMILIES: | RATIO (* 100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MISSISSIPPI | 30943 | 63015 | 49 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 26701 | 58642 | 46 |
| GEORGIA | 41084 | 109919 | 37 |
| ALABAMA | 33730 | 96603 | 35 |
| FLORIDA | 5152 | 15090 | 34 |
| LOUISIANA | 22033 | 74725 | 29 |
| TEXAS | 21878 | 76781 | 28 |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 34658 | 125090 | 28 |
| VIRGINIA | 52128 | 201523 | 26 |
| TENNESSEE | 36844 | 149335 | 25 |
| KENTUCKY | 38645 | 166321 | 23 |
| ARKANSAS | 11481 | 57244 | 20 |
| MISSOURI | 24320 | 192073 | 13 |
| MARYLAND | 13783 | 110278 | 12 |
| DELAWARE | 587 | 18966 | 3 |
Note: These numbers should be considered a close approximation only of the percentage of free households that held slaves. While the normal case was that only one individual per household held title to all slaves, under special circumstances census takers sometimes counted more than one individual from a family as a separate slaveholder. On other occasions the census taker excluded out-of-state slaveholdings. Because slaves were taxed and census marshalls were government officials it is likely that under-reporting of the numbers of both slaves and slaveholders was higher than under-reporting of free families. On balance, therefore, these error sources should cancel out.