Nebraska Census

Online Resources

 * United States Online Census, 1790-1940
 * — index and images
 * Nebraska, Compiled Census Index, 1854-1870, ($)
 * Nebraska State Census Collection, 1860-1885 Index and images. ($)
 * Index and images.
 * Nebraska, State Census, 1885 Index and images. ($)
 * Census Records of Nebraska from Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record.

Nebraska State Censuses Online

 * Nebraska State Census Collection, 1860-1885 Index and images. ($)
 * Index and images.
 * Nebraska, State Census, 1885 Index and images. ($)

Microfilm images
In 1860, Nebraska Territory encompassed most of present-day Nebraska and parts of the present-day states of Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Colorado.

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

Microfilm images
Mortality schedules for 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1885 are also located at the Nebraska State Historical Society at http://www.nebraskahistory.org/.

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

State and territorial censuses
Nebraska 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.


 * 1917 Counties: Cass
 * 1898 Counties: Gage
 * 1885 Counties: Extant for all counties except Blaine and Chase.
 * 1884 Counties: Madison
 * 1882 Counties: Cass
 * 1881 Counties: Cass
 * 1880 Counties: Cass, Lancaster
 * 1879 Counties: Cass, Lancaster
 * 1878 counties: Cass, Lancaster
 * 1877 Counties: Cass
 * 1876 Counties: Cass, Frontier, Sarpy (Richardson Precinct)
 * 1875 Counties: Lancaster
 * 1874 Counties: Jefferson, Kearney, Lancaster
 * 1872 Counties: Dawson
 * 1870 Counties: Lancaster
 * 1869 Counties: Butler, Stanton
 * 1865 Counties: Butler, Cumings, Lancaster (Saltillo and Lancaster Precincts), Otoe
 * 1864 Counties: Cedar
 * 1858 Counties: Otoe (Nebraska City)
 * 1856 Counties: Burt, Cass, Clay, Cumings, Dakota, Dodge (Northern and Southern Districts), Lancaster, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Platte, Richardson, Washington
 * 1855 Counties: Cass (census and index), Dodge, Douglas, Franklin (records and index), Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Richardson
 * 1854 all 6 districts


 * 1913-1914 A detailed census of German immigrants from Russia living in Lincoln was taken for Nebraska. The information is similar to that found in the 1900 census, but the town or colony of birth is also given. It is arranged by street. (Family History Library film 833157.)
 * 1885 The Federal Government took a special census of Nebraska, which is on 56 microfilms at the Family History Library and at the Nebraska State Historical Society. The society also has the state Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1886 and a card index made from the directory that provides a partial index to the census. The Family History Library does not have the directory or the card index.
 * The 1854, 1855, and 1856 Nebraska territorial censuses have been transcribed, indexed, and published in: Cox, Eunice Evelyn. 1854, 1855, 1856 Nebraska Territory Censuses. Ellensburg, Washington: Cox, 1977. (Family History Library .)
 * 1854, 1855, 1856, 1865, and 1869 Territorial and state censuses exist for parts of Nebraska. The county enumerations of several eastern Nebraska counties, were published in:The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record, vols. 13-22, 1932-44 (Family History Library film 162018). The State Archives at the Nebraska State Historical Society has a card index for the 1865 and 1869 censuses. The existing records are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.

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