Utah Census

United States   U.S. Census    Utah    Census

A census is a count and description of the population of a country,state, county, or city. Census lists are also called “schedules." In the United States a nationwide census has been taken every ten years since 1790. A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor lived and when they lived there.

Microfilm images

 * 1856 -- Family History Library
 * 1852 -- Bishops Report (Family History Library )
 * 1850 -- Taken in 1851 (Family History Library ; ; )

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

Microfilm images

 * 1850-1880 Agricultural The Church History Library has copies of these schedules.

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

State, territorial, and colonial censuses
Utah 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.


 * 1914-1960 For six censuses of members of the LDS Church in Utah and beyond see the LDS Census Wiki page.
 * 1905 In this year, the State Constitution made provision for a decennial census, but no record was found of any census taken in accordance with the constitutional requirement.
 * 1872 Kane, Rich, Tooele and Utah counties list names.
 * 1856 State census. Caution: this census was padded. Most listings are correct, but some were repeated, and in a few cases deceased people were listed.
 * 1852 So called "Bishops' Report" now available online. A transcript is available in the FamilySearch book collection. Images are available on the Church History website.
 * 1851 Used as a substitute for the 1850 federal census. See federal censuses.

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