Mexico National Census, 1930 - FamilySearch Historical Records

 Mexico

What is in the Collection?
Mexico’s first national census was conducted in 1895, but this information pertains to records for the year 1930. These records are written in Spanish.

Population schedules consist of large sheets with rows and columns. The sheets are arranged in bundles by municipality and then by place, such as city, village, or ranch. The original schedules are at the National Archives (Archivo General de la Nación) in Mexico City. The records have been preserved on microfilm by the Genealogical Society of Utah

While earlier attempts were made to enumerate the Mexican population, the 1895 census was considered the first federal or national census. Beginning in 1900, censuses were conducted every 10 years. The 1930 census was conducted on May 15 and was the first census in which returns were processed centrally. Because of this, most of sheets still exist. This census is widely recognized as one of Mexico’s best planned and executed censuses, and it is also the only one accessible to the public. Due to under counting and some record loss, primarily for the Federal District, the 1930 census covers about 78 percent of the population, not 90% as previously reported. (This figure is based on 12.8 million persons in the Ancestry.com database extracted from this census compared with a total population in 1930 for all of Mexico in 1930 of 16,552,722 (see Mexico Population 1930). Since the population of Mexico City was 1,029,000 in 1930, there were record losses in areas beyond the Federal District as well, accounting for another 2 million plus persons not covered in the database placed online by Ancestry.com in September 2011.

The Mexico 1930 Census is usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care taken by the census enumerator. Realize that information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or even by a neighbor.

These records are written in Spanish. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List;  also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can these Records Tell Me?

 * City or village and state where census was taken
 * Head of household (jefe de la familia)
 * Full name of each household member (nombre y apellido)
 * Gender (sexo)
 * Male (hombre)
 * Female (mujer)
 * Age (edad)
 * Years (años)
 * Months (meses)
 * Days (dias)
 * Marital status (estado civil)
 * Single (soltero)
 * Married civilly (casado por lo Civil)
 * Married by the church (casado por la Iglesia)
 * Common law union (union libre)
 * Widow (viudo)
 * Divorced (divorciado)
 * Occupation (profesion u ocupacion)
 * Birthplace of each person, if born in Mexico, the name of the state (lugar de nacimiento)
 * Nationality (nacionalidad)
 * Native language (idioma)
 * Religion (religion)

How Do I Search the Collection?
Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * As with any index, transcription errors could have occurred and not all information may be transcribed. It is recommended you verify the information with the original record.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒Select the "State" category ⇒Select the "Municipality" category ⇒Select the "City" category which takes you to the images

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

What Do I Do Next?
The Mexico 1930 Census is the best source to quickly identify a family group and residence. With the information found, take your ancestor’s age, place of residence, and birth state (if available) to search for him/her in other records. The census identifies other people living in the household and may identify people for whom other records simply do not exist. You need to know the name of your ancestor for those places that are indexed. If the ancestor has a common name, you must know the place of residence to determine which index entry is the correct one. If you do not find your ancestor in the index, use the place of residence and search that place page by page. An important clue found in the Mexico 1930 Census is found in the answer to the question of whether the person was married civilly or by the church. The answer to this question will lead either to find a marriage record in the Civil Registration or the Marriage records of the Catholic Church.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, Now What?

 * Accept the ages with caution.
 * Given names may not always be the same as the names recorded in vital records.
 * Information may be incorrect.
 * Names may be spelled as they sound.
 * Place names may be misspelled or spelled phonetically.
 * If the family is not at the suspected address, search the surrounding area.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: