United States Census, 1920 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
Index to the population schedules from National Archive microfilm publication T625, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. The collection is part of Record Group 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census. The census will identify the place of residence on January 1, 1920 for each person counted. The collection is arranged alphabetically by state, then by county, and by enumeration district (ED). Enumeration districts may not always be arranged in numerical order within each state. The index was created by FamilySearch and Ancestry.com.

Population schedules were recorded on large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules are arranged by state, county, place, and enumeration district. The districts are not always filed in sequential order. The arrangement of families on a schedule is usually the order in which the enumerator visited the households.

Federal census takers were asked to record information about all the people who were in a household on the census day, which was 1 January for the 1920 census. A census taker might have visited the residence on a later date, but the information collected was to have been about the people in the residence on the census day. The basic census enumeration unit was the county. Each county was divided into enumeration districts, one for each enumerator. The completed forms were sent to the Census Office of the Commerce Department in Washington, D.C. The schedules cover 95 to 97 percent of the population.

The U.S. federal census has been taken at the beginning of every decade, beginning in 1790, to apportion the number of representatives a state could send to the House of Representatives. In the absence of a national system of vital registration, many vital statistics and personal questions were asked to provide a statistical profile of the nation and its states.

Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care taken by the census enumerator. Realize that any family member or even a neighbor may have supplied information to the census taker. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:


 * State, county, township, town/city, precinct and enumeration district
 * Date census was taken (information given based on a 1 January 1920 date)
 * Street name and house number
 * Name of head of household
 * Names of all members of household
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Gender


 * Race
 * Age (can be used to calculate the approximate birth year)
 * Marital status (single, married, widowed or divorced)
 * Immigrant or naturalized citizen
 * Date of naturalization
 * Whether attended school or not
 * Able to read and write?


 * Birthplace of each member
 * Language spoken
 * Father's birthplace
 * Mother's birthplace
 * Occupation

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate age and birth place of your ancestor
 * The state and county where your ancestor lived
 * The names of other family members or associates

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record. Birth records often list biographical and marital details about the parents and close relatives other than the immediate family
 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses
 * Use the naturalization information to find their naturalization papers in the county court records. It can also help you locate immigration records such as a passenger list which would usually be kept records at the port of entry into the United States

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Remember that as with any index, transcription errors may occur
 * Check for variant spellings of the names
 * Look for another index. Local historical and genealogical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search neighboring localities or states

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the United States.
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies
 * Using the Census to find other records about ancestors

Related Family History Library Holdings

 * 1920 population census schedules
 * Census descriptions of geographic subdivisions and enumeration districts, 1920 : NA T1224
 * Military-Naval, 1920 federal census : soundex and population schedules
 * Institutions, 1920 federal census : soundex and population schedules

Related FamilySearch Historical Records Collections
State Census Collections
 * Enumeration District Maps, 1900-1940
 * Iowa, 1925
 * New York, 1925
 * Rhode Island, 1925
 * South Dakota, 1925

Related Digital Books

 * NARA Census Bureau Inventory Cartographic Records
 * 1920 Federal census of cities and towns of the United States, with key index showing location on maps, arranged in alphabetical order by states : also population of all the states and the United States for the years 1900, 1910 and 1920, and the percentage of increase or decrease for the respective decades. War chronology continued to 1921
 * Abstract of the fourteenth census of the United States, 1920
 * Twenty censuses, population and housing questions, 1790-1980
 * The history and growth of the United States census : prepared for the Senate Committee on the Census

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Estados Unidos, censo de 1920 (registros históricos de FamilySearch) Estados Unidos, Censo, 1920 (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)