United States Census Online

An introduction to United States federal census records available online at free sites and subscription sites. Includes information on how to access the subscription sites for free at LDS family history centers and other libraries.

Introduction
United States federal censuses have been taken every ten years since 1790. Census records 1790 through 1930 have been indexed and are available for public use (99% of the 1890 was destroyed). These records are also available online on both free and fee based websites. Additionally, some sites only include indexes, while others will have indexes and images of the census records. Please keep in mind that the original records normally contain more information than indexes.

The following websites contain U.S. Federal Census indexes and/or images.

Free Sites

 * http://www.familysearch.org - contains an every name index to the 1880 U.S. Census. Click on the Search tab, and select Census from the list of databases listed on the left side of the screen.
 * http://www.cyndislist.com/census.htm- contains links to many different online indexes and images.
 * Census http://www.warnes.net/Teslacorp/GenealogyLinks/index_html?Tab=4-US%20Census This site will link you to various fee based and free websites that contain U.S. Census records. Other census information available such as useful tools, and instructions
 * http://www.census-online.com/links/- contains available indexes and some images. Click on the state where your ancestor lived, then the county to view what is available.
 * http://www.ancestry.com - This is a subscription based website, however the 1880 census index and images are available free of charge.

Fee based Sites (see each site for subscription details)

 * http://www.ancestry.com - contains indexes and digital images of the original records for all census years from 1790 to 1930. Some indexes and images are free. See the Free Sites section of this article. The following census databases are free to search at the Family History Library and at family history centers.
 * Indexes and images for each of the United States Federal census for the years 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment), 1900, 1910, and 1920.
 * Full name indices for the British 1841-1891 censuses (England and Wales) Many public libraries also have a subscription to Ancestry providing access to all US census years. Please contact your local library system for information.
 * http://www.heritagequestonline.com - contains indexes and digital images of the original records for all census years from 1790 to 1930. The Family History Library and a few U.S. family history centers provide free access to this to patrons. Some public libraries offer their library patrons free access to this website. Please contact your local public or academic library for additional information. Personal subscriptions to this site are not available.