United States Census

Beginners' Corner
What are the U.S. census records? What time periods do they cover? What can I find in them? How do I access them? Search strategies

For a more complete beginning introduction, see U. S. Census Records Class Handout.

Value of Censuses
A census is a count and description of the population of a country, state, county, or city for a given date. 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. You can also use censuses to:

Follow the family over time Determine family relationships Find clues to other locations where the family lived Show clues for finding other records</li>

Additional Online Links
United States Census Online Genealogy Records Internet links by year for FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast, and MyHeritage</li> AccessGenealogy - United States Census Records</li> CensusRecords.com ($) indexes and images; 1790-1940</li> Fold3 ($) index and images; 1860-1930</li> Internet Archive images 1790-1930</li> My Free Census Find your ancestors in the U.S. census, and International census records</li> <font color="#0066cc">U.S. Census Bureau images of published transcriptions of 1790 census for 12 states</li> Nonpopulation Census Records Agriculture, mortality, and social statistics schedules are available for the census years of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. Manufacturing schedules are available for 1820, 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. Schedules of business are available for 1935 for these industries: advertising agencies, banking and financial institutions, miscellaneous enterprises, motor trucking for hire, public warehousing, and radio broadcasting stations.</li> Census-Online</li> GermanRoots.com</li>

Contents of the Censuses

 * United States Bureau of the Census. 200 years of U.S. census taking: population and housing questions, 1790-1990.
 * Blank forms for each U.S. census year

U. S. Territories
<ul class="column-spacing-fullscreen" style="padding-right:5px;"> American Samoa</li> District of Columbia</li> Guam</li> Northern Mariana Islands</li> Puerto Rico</li> <li>Virgin Islands</li> </ul>

County Copies of Population Schedules

 * United States Census Records County Copies, 1850-1880

Nonpopulation Census Schedules

 * United States Census Records Nonpopulation Census Schedules-1820,1850-1880
 * United States Census Agricultural Schedules
 * United States Census Defective Schedules
 * United States Census Manufacturing Schedules
 * United States Census Mortality Schedules
 * United States Census Social Statistics Schedules

Additional Resources

 * State and Special Census Records (36 minute online video)
 * Heads of Household Only: Analysis of Pre-1850 Federal Census (19 minute online video)
 * United States Census Videos on FamilySearch.org
 * Map Guide to U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1920 Shows county boundary changes in each state from 1790 to 1920, and which census areas were lost or still exist.
 * The Census Book: a Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes: with Master Extraction Forms for Federal Census Schedules, 1790-1930 An online edition is at HeritageQuestOnline. Discusses indexes, regular, and non-population schedules.
 * Censuses and Tax Lists Strategies for finding elusive ancestors, and history of indexing.
 * Publications of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 1917. NARA T825
 * United States. Bureau of the Census. Publications of the Census, 1790-1916.
 * Caroll D. Wright. The history and growth of the United States census: prepared for the Senate Committee on the Census. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office (United States), 1900. FHL 973 X2w
 * William Stull Holt. The Bureau of the Census: its history, activities, and organization. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1929.reprint.New York, New York: AMS Press, 1974. FHL 973 B4b v.53
 * United States Bureau of the Census. A Century of population growth from the first census of the United States to the twelfth, 1790-1900. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office., 1909. FHL 973 X2x
 * William Dollarhide. The census book: a genealogist's guide to federal census facts, schedules, and indexes; with master extraction forms for federal census schedules, 1790-1930. Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1999. FHL 973 X27d
 * William Dollarhide. Map guide to the U.S. Federal censuses, 1790-1920.Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1987. FHL 973 X2th
 * Katherine H. Davidson and Charlotte M. Ashby. Preliminary inventory of the records of the Bureau of the Census: record group 29.Washington, D.C.: National Archives & Records Administration, 1964. FHL 973 X23da digital images
 * Margo Anderson. The American census: a social history. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1988. FHL 973 X4am