Census Records (2024)

FAQs

Can I view census records for free? ›

View digitized Census Records online through one of our partners, ancestry.com or familysearch.org. (Familysearch.org is free-of-charge. Ancestry.com is available free-of-charge at the National Archives facilities nationwide and through many libraries, otherwise by subscription.)

After 72 years have passed, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is responsible for making census records publicly available. Records from the 1790 to 1950 censuses are currently available for genealogical research. Records from the 1950 Census were released by NARA on April 1, 2022.

Visit Local Libraries or Genealogy Research Centers: If you prefer to search for census records in physical archives, you can visit local libraries or genealogy research centers. These places typically provide public access computers for searching census records.

Person search

Enter forename and surname of the individual you seek in the relevant boxes. Enter the county they lived in. If you know the townland or street where the person lived, enter that in the relevant box. If you know the person's age, enter that, and the search will cover that age plus or minus 5 years.

The United States has collected data about its population since 1790 and continues to collect data every 10 years. Currently, the National Archives has the 1790 to 1940 census records available to the public. In addition to the censuses conducted by the federal government, many state censuses have been conducted.

There are no user fees, site licenses, or any special agreements etc for the public or private use, and or reuse of any census title.

The law, passed in 1978, was an outgrowth of an agreement between the Census Bureau and National Archives. For privacy reasons, access to personally identifiable information contained in decennial census records is restricted to all but the individual named on the record or their legal heir for 72 years.

Individual records from the Census from 1841 to 1911 are available directly from genealogy websites such as www.ancestry.co.uk and www.findmypast.co.uk by subscription. You may also find that some public libraries offer access to these websites free of charge.

The most recent national census took place in 2020; the next census is scheduled for 2030. Since 2013, the Census Bureau began discussions on using technology to aid data collection starting with the 2020 census.

Microdata from the 1980 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2052.

Can you search US Census records by address? ›

Find an address.

N.B. bear in mind that the census can only be searched by a street address from 1870 in Manhattan (2nd enumeration) or 1880 for the rest of the country. Possible address sources include: City or telephone directories.

Where can I research the 1940 Census? The National Archives and Records Administration provides free online access to the Population Schedules for the 1940 Census through the National Archives Catalog.

If you cannot find your ancestor in federal population census records, consider these possibilities: The individual's name may be spelled differently in the records. Try searching for variant spellings. There may be transcription errors with the indexing.

This includes more paper forms, more census collectors, more assistance, more work with communities, and more accessible formats and language support,” Mason said. “Everyone is required to take part because the census is so important, and we are here to support people so they can.

For free access, you can visit, in person, The National Archives (TNA) in Southwest London, Manchester Central Library or the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. At these locations you will be able to view the Census records via the Findmypast website, but without the charges.

The QuickFacts data access tool provides users with easy access to a variety of statistics. Data.census.gov provides data on population, race, age, education, income, and businesses for the largest and smallest geographic entities including ZIP codes.

You can search the 1950 Census population schedules by name and address. The Indian Reservation Schedules will also be searchable by reservation name.