Research Guides: Find U.S. Census Information: Decennial Census

What is the purpose of the census?

The U.S. Census Bureau has been taking a census of the whole population every ten years since 1790. Its original purpose was to determine congressional representation and to apportion taxes to pay for the expensive Revolutionary War.

Key Facts:

The census helps determine the annual distribution of over 675 billion federal dollars.

It is an essential tool in monitoring and enforcing civil-rights legislation in such areas as employment, voting rights, housing and mortgage lending, health-care services, and educational opportunities.
The census includes (or attempts to include) all those living in the United States on Census Day (legal citizens, as well as undocumented).
It provides an unmatched wealth of socioeconomic data on individuals, families, and households available down to detailed geographic areas -- towns, census tracts, and even blocks.

Visit 2020census.gov find updates and news about the latest census.

What questions are asked by the census?

The questions asked vary each decade (table of all questions asked, 1790-2000), reflecting the concerns of the time. The core data include:

age
sex
race literacy or school attainment
household and family composition
place of birth
occupation
income and poverty
home ownership

Curious about the census form? The Census Bureau's history site has images of census forms from 1790 - 2010.

Where can I find census data?

Data Census.gov
The official platform for finding data produced by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Statistical tables and charts covering various aspects of social, political and economic conditions of the United States.
Social Explorer (1790 to present) This link opens in a new window
Access to data from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey, religious congregations, and other sources, with options to create thematic and interactive maps and reports.
Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Access to more than 1.2 billion names, primary-source documents, census records, and images, with a variety of genealogical and historical research features.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
Standard source for quantitative information about the U.S., updated and with 37,000 data series.
ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window
ICPSR preserves and disseminates survey instruments, specifications, data dictionaries, codebooks, and other materials provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

IPUMS USA
Microdata samples of the decennial census from the years 1850-2010.

Early American Imprints. Series II, Shaw-Shoemaker (1801-1819) This link opens in a new window
Books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the distinguished bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) (1701-1800) This link opens in a new window
Page images and full-text searching for more than 136,000 key English- and foreign-language titles printed in Great Britain during the 18th century, based on the English Short Title Catalogue.