United States Census

Beginners' Corner
What are the U.S. census records? What time periods do they cover? What can I find in them? How do I access them? Search strategies

For a more complete beginning introduction, see U. S. Census Records Class Handout.

Value of Censuses
A census is a count and description of the population of a country, state, county, or city for a given date. Census lists are also called “schedules." In the United States a nationwide census has been taken every ten years since 1790. A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to:

Follow the family over time Determine family relationships (more recent than 1880 as shown above) Find clues to other locations where the family lived Show clues for finding other records</li>

Additional Online Links
United States Census Online Genealogy Records Internet links by year for FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast, and MyHeritage</li> AccessGenealogy - United States Census Records</li> Fold3 ($) index and images; 1860-1930</li> Internet Archive images 1790-1930</li> My Free Census Find your ancestors in the U.S. census, and International census records</li> National Archives images of published transcriptions of 1790 census for 12 states</li> Nonpopulation Census Records Agriculture, mortality, and social statistics schedules are available for the census years of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. Manufacturing schedules are available for 1820, 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. Schedules of business are available for 1935 for these industries: advertising agencies, banking and financial institutions, miscellaneous enterprises, motor trucking for hire, public warehousing, and radio broadcasting stations.</li> National Archives. Search Census Records Online and Other Resources.</li> GermanRoots.com</li>

Contents of the Censuses

 * United States Bureau of the Census. 200 years of U.S. census taking: population and housing questions, 1790-1990.
 * Blank forms for each U.S. census year

U. S. Territories
<ul class="column-spacing-fullscreen" style="padding-right:5px;"> American Samoa</li> District of Columbia</li> Guam</li> Northern Mariana Islands</li> Puerto Rico</li> Virgin Islands</li> </ul>

County Copies of Population Schedules

 * United States Census Records County Copies, 1850-1880

Nonpopulation Census Schedules

 * United States Census Records Nonpopulation Census Schedules-1820,1850-1880
 * United States Census Agricultural Schedules
 * United States Census Defective Schedules
 * United States Census Manufacturing Schedules
 * United States Census Mortality Schedules
 * United States Census Social Statistics Schedules

Additional Resources

 * State and Special Census Records (36 minute online video)
 * Heads of Household Only: Analysis of Pre-1850 Federal Census (19 minute online video)
 * United States Census Videos on FamilySearch
 * Map Guide to U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1920. Shows county boundary changes in each state from 1790 to 1920, and which census areas were lost or still exist.
 * The Census Book: a Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes: with Master Extraction Forms for Federal Census Schedules, 1790-1930. Available online at some libraries through HeritageQuest Online. Discusses indexes, regular, and non-population schedules.
 * Censuses and Tax Lists. Strategies for finding elusive ancestors, and history of indexing.
 * Publications of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-1917. NARA T825
 * United States. Bureau of the Census. Publications of the Census, 1790-1916.
 * The history and growth of the United States census: prepared for the Senate Committee on the Census. By Caroll D. Wright. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office (United States), 1900.
 * The Bureau of the Census: its history, activities, and organization. By William Stull Holt. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1929.reprint.New York, New York: AMS Press, 1974.
 * A Century of population growth from the first census of the United States to the twelfth, 1790-1900. United States Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office., 1909.
 * Map guide to the U.S. Federal censuses, 1790-1920. By William Dollarhide. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1987.
 * Preliminary inventory of the records of the Bureau of the Census: record group 29. By Katherine H. Davidson and Charlotte M. Ashby. Washington, D.C.: National Archives & Records Administration, 1964. Digital images.
 * The American census: a social history. By Margo Anderson. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1988.