New Jersey Census

Population Schedules
Starting in 1790, federal population schedules were taken every 10 years in the United States. Click here for more information about federal census records.

New Jersey was the 3rd state to join the Union on December 18, 1787. New Jersey census records for the first four federal census--1790, 1800 (except for Cumberland County), 1810, and 1820--have not survived. Except for parts of Hudson County, the 1890 (11th census) records were destroyed in a fire at the National Archives in 1921.

Online Resources

 * New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890, ($), index
 * United States Online Census, 1790-1940
 * — index and images
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1855, ($) index and images
 * — images
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1865 ($) index and images
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1875 ($) index and images
 * Index and Images.
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1885 ($) index and images
 * — index and images
 * — index and images
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1895, ($) index/images
 * Index and Images.
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1905 ($) index and images
 * — index and images
 * New Jersey, State Census, 1915 ($) index and images

Microfilm images
Copies of these censuses can be found in the following repositories: National Archives and all of its regional centers, Family History Library, New Jersey Historical Society, New Jersey State Archives, Newark Public Library, Rutgers University Library and the New Jersey State Library.

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

Microfilm images

 * United States. Census Office. 11th Census, 1890. Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War. File Microcopies of Records in the National Archives, number 123. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1948. (Family History Library .)
 * United States. Census Office. Census of New Jersey, 1850-1880; Third Series (of Persons Who Died During the Years Ending 30 June 1850, 1 June 1860; 1 June 1870; 31 May 1880. Trenton, New Jersey: State Library of Archives and History, Department of Education, 1996. (Family History Library .) The 1880 schedules are for Atlantic to Hudson counties only.

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

State, territorial, and colonial censuses
New Jersey often took censuses in the years between the federal censuses, the dates are listed below. State census records may have columns that were different or more unusual than those found on federal censuses. The responses and years of coverage may give additional information on the family.

The original records and microfilm copies of state censuses are at the New Jersey State Archives. Copies of the 1905 and 1915 censuses are also at the New Jersey Department of Health. The Newark Public Library, New Jersey State Library, Rutgers University Library, and Family History Library have microfilm copies of all New Jersey state censuses. State censuses were taken beginning in 1855. Some records are missing, as indicated below:


 * 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 - All counties are available.
 * 1875 - Only Essex, Hunterdon, Monmouth, and Sussex counties are available.
 * 1865 - Missing Cape May, Mercer, Morris, Ocean, Somerset, and Warren counties and incomplete for the others.
 * 1855 - Missing Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean, and Salem counties and incomplete for the others.
 * 1693 A special census was taken of Swedes who were associated with the Swedish Lutheran Church and who were living in Pennsylvania, Delaware, west New Jersey, and Cecil County, Maryland. The census and an index to it are in Craig, Peter Stebbins. The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware. Winter Park, Florida: SAG Publications, 1993. (Family History Library .)
 * 1671 New Castle County, Delaware; Philadelphia and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington County, New Jersey.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing New Jersey 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

Sources and footnotes
Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * New Jersey 1885 State Census - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * New Jersey State Census, 1905 (Family Search Historical Records)