Iowa Census

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Federal population schedules
Many federal census records on microfilm are at the following archives:


 * State Historical Society (in Des Moines and Iowa City)
 * Family History Library (Iowa censuses from 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930)
 * National Archives

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

Microfilm images
The State Historical Society (in Des Moines and Iowa City) and the Family History Library have copies of the mortality schedules.


 * 1880 (Family History Library films 1421011-14)
 * 1870 (Family History Library films 1421008-10)
 * 1860 (Family History Library film 1421007)
 * 1850 (Family History Library film 1421006)

Like the census, these records are arranged by county and then by town.

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

State, territorial, and colonial censuses
Iowa state censuses are available at:


 * The State Historical Society in Des Moines and the Family History Library (Iowa censuses through 1925).
 * The State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City (all Iowa censuses except 1905).


 * 1925 (statewide) Indexes exist for the following cities: Boone, Cedar Falls, Centerville, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Council Bluffs, Dubuque, Ottumwa, Sioux City, Waterloo, Davenport, and Des Moines. Note that the 1925 census images available at Ancestry.com includes only the first page of the four pages of information.
 * 1915 (statewide, alphabetical by county)
 * 1905 (statewide)
 * 1895 (statewide)
 * 1893 (town of Mystic, Appanoose County, town of Hampton, Franklin County, town of Ames, Story County, town of Bloomfield, Davis County, town of Nevada, Story County, and town of West Union, Fayette County)
 * 1892 (town of Carroll, Carroll County, town of Eagle Grove, Wright County, town of Estherville, Emmett County, town of Greene, Jefferson County, and town of Tama, Tama County)
 * 1891 (town of Emmetsburg, Palo Alto County, town of Spencer, Clay County, town of Villisca, Montgomery County)
 * 1889 (town of Cherokee, Cherokee County)
 * 1888 (town of Algona, Kossuth County)
 * 1885 (statewide)
 * 1882 (town of Keokuk, Lee County)
 * 1881 (Mason City, Cerro Gordo County)
 * 1856 (statewide, by county)
 * 1847, 1849, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854
 * 1846 (Louisa, Polk, and Wapello Counties)
 * 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844 (Keokuk County)
 * 1838 as part of Wisconsin Territory
 * 1836 as part of Wisconsin Territory

The following indexes are available:


 * For 1856 a census substitute for many cities in Iowa is Sopp, Elsie L. Personal Name Index to the 1856 City Directories of Iowa. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1980. book 977.7 D42s).
 * 1852 Jackson, Ronald Vern, ed. Iowa 1852. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1988. (Family History Library fbook 977.7 X22io 1852).
 * 1851 to 1859 Jackson, Ronald Vern, ed. Iowa Census Records, 1851 to 1859. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1981. (Family History Library book 977.7 X2i 1851–1859).
 * 1841–1849 Jackson, Ronald Vern, ed. Iowa Census Records, 1841–1849. Two Volumes. Salt Lake City, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1979, 1981. (Family History Library book 977.7 X22i 1841–1849; fiche 6019963 vol. 1.
 * Indexes to the territorial censuses for 1836, 1838, and 1840 are available in book form at the Family History Library.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing Iowa 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