Pennsylvania Census

Online Resources

 * Pennsylvania, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1772-1890, ($), index
 * United States Online Census, 1790-1940
 * — index and images

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of Pennsylvania, click here

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of Pennsylvania, click here.

State and colonial censuses
Pennylvania never took a state census. Records indicated as state censuses are in reality reconstructed tax lists.


 * 1857 Chester County only: a list of taxable inhabitants by Township.
 * 1783/4 Swedish Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania
 * 1753 Swedish Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania
 * 1743 Swedish Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania
 * 1697/8 Swedish Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania
 * 1693 Swedish Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania
 * 1671 Philadelphia and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania; New Castle County, Delaware, and Burlington County, New Jersey.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing Pennsylvania censuses, click here.

Why use a census?
A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses
Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:


 * index searching tips
 * analyzing and using what you find
 * census accuracy
 * historical background
 * contents of various census years and types