1940 Census United States - Where to Find an Address

Until the indexes for the 1940 Census are complete, it will be important to discover your ancestor's address. Correctly identifying the address will help to reduce the number required searches of different Enumeration Districts. See the 1940 Census Wiki pages Finding a Rural Ancestor and Finding an Ancestor in a Big City for more information about how to use an address to locate you ancestor in 1940.

Sources for 1940 Addresses
A. Family Group Records. Look at these records to find the places where the person was living, his parents, siblings, or children were born, married or died near the year 1940. There are several places to search for family group records: relatives, the Internet, and microfilms of the FamilySearch Family Group Records Archives Section and FamilySearch Family Group Records Patron Section.

B. Relatives. Ask older relatives where the person lived in 1940. Relatives may have old address books or letters with return addresses.

C. Earlier censuses. Find the person on the 1930 Index to the Federal Census, or on a state, or on a church census as close to 1940 as possible. Take note of the street (if any), town, and county where he lived. If the 1930 census enumeration district (ED) is known, use this online converter to determine the 1940 ED. Learn more

D. World War I Draft Registration ($) Ancestry. Look for male close-relatives born between 1872 and 1900 on Ancestry.com. Registration cards show their address in 1917 or 1918. Men did not have to serve in the armed forces to appear on draft registration cards.

E. Addresses on birth, marriage, or death certificates from around 1940 for close-relatives.

F. Obituaries. Search obituaries for clues about the residence of survivors or the deceased. Microfilms of newspapers with obituaries can be obtained via inter-library loan at college or public libraries. To learn the address of newspaper microfilm repositories in each state see the U.S. Newspapers Program on the Internet. Other newspaper columns may also include address information.

G. Tax lists or voting registers. Use the FamilySearch Catalog Place Search to find the state and/or county, and then look for the topic Taxation, or Voting Registers for the years around 1940.

H.World War II Draft Registration and WWII Army Enlistment Records ($) Ancestry. Street addresses were often included in these records. Not all states are covered.

I. Social Security Application. The wiki page U.S. Social Security Records for Genealogists explains how to request a copy of your ancestor’s Social Security Application.

J. City Directories. See the Wiki page Using a City Directory to Find your 1940 Ancestor's Address.