Website alows the public full access to the 1940 Census images, census maps and descriptions.

Abstract

The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) Complete Count Data include more than 650 million individual-level and 7.5 million household-level records. The microdata are the result of collaboration between IPUMS and the nation’s two largest genealogical organizations—Ancestry.com and FamilySearch—and provides the largest and richest source of individual level and household data.

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Documentation

Historic data are scarce and often only exists in aggregate tables. The key advantage of historic US census data is the availability of individual and household level characteristics that researchers can tabulate in ways that benefits their specific research questions. The data contain demographic variables, economic variables, migration variables and family variables. Within households, it is possible to create relational data as all relations between household members are known. For example, having data on the mother and her children in a household enables researchers to calculate the mother’s age at birth. Another advantage of the Complete Count data is the possibility to follow individuals over time using a historical identifier.

In sum: the historic US census data are a unique source for research on social and economic change and can provide population health researchers with information about social and economic determinants.

The historic US 1920 census data was collected in January 1920. Enumerators collected data traveling to households and counting the residents who regularly slept at the household. Individuals lacking permanent housing were counted as residents of the place where they were when the data was collected. Household members absent on the day of data collected were either listed to the household with the help of other household members or were scheduled for the last census subdivision.

Notes

• We provide household and person data separately so that it is convenient to explore the descriptive statistics on each level. In order to obtain a full dataset, merge the household and person on the variables SERIAL and SERIALP. In order to create a longitudinal dataset, merge datasets on the variable HISTID.

• Households with more than 60 people in the original data were broken up for processing purposes. Every person in the large households are considered to be in their own household. The original large households can be identified using the variable SPLIT, reconstructed using the variable SPLITHID, and the original count is found in the variable SPLITNUM.

• Coded variables derived from string variables are still in progress. These variables include: occupation and industry.

• Missing observations have been allocated and some inconsistencies have been edited for the following variables: SPEAKENG, YRIMMIG, CITIZEN, AGE, BPL, MBPL, FBPL, LIT, SCHOOL, OWNERSHP, MORTGAGE, FARM, CLASSWKR, OCC1950, IND1950, MARST, RACE, SEX, RELATE, MTONGUE. The flag variables indicating an allocated observation for the associated variables can be included in your extract by clicking the ‘Select data quality flags’ box on the extract summary page.

• Most inconsistent information was not edited for this release, thus there are observations outside of the universe for some variables. In particular, the variables GQ, and GQTYPE have known inconsistencies and will be improved with the next release.

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Section 2

This dataset was created on 2020-01-10 18:46:34.647 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

IPUMS 1920 households: This dataset includes all households from the 1920 US census.

IPUMS 1920 persons: This dataset includes all individuals from the 1920 US census.

IPUMS 1920 Lookup: This dataset includes variable names, variable labels, variable values, and corresponding variable value labels for the IPUMS 1920 datasets.

This dataset includes variable names, variable labels, variable values, and corresponding variable value labels for the IPUMS 1900 datasets.

Simple municipal name/GEOID lookup table. The table combines GEOID with census county names and municipal names. Stored as view in the demographics schema.

The Census Tree is the largest-ever database of record links among the historical U.S. censuses, with over 700 million links for people living in the United States between 1850 and 1940. These links allow researchers to construct a longitudinal dataset that is highly representative of the population, and that includes women, Black Americans, and other under-represented populations at unprecedented rates. This project contains the files necessary to closely replicate the links between the 1900 and 1910 censuses. For more information, consult the included Read Me file, and visit https://censustree.org.

1840 United States Census contains records from Harrison, Licking County, Ohio, USA by Year: 1840; Census Place: Harrison, Licking, Ohio; Roll: 408; Page: 334; Family History Library Film: 0020170 || 1840 United States Federal Census - Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. || Images reproduced by FamilySearch. - Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. - .

1830 United States Census contains records from Middlesex, New Jersey, North Brunswick by Year: 1830; Census Place: North Brunswick, Middlesex, New Jersey; Series: M19; Roll: 83; Page: 225; Family History Library Film: 0337936 || Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. || Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. - .

1910 United States Federal Census contains records from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA by Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1910; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 42, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1411; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 1061; FHL microfilm: 1375424 - .

This data collection consists of modified records from CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1970 [UNITED STATES]: PUBLIC USE SAMPLES (ICPSR 0018). The original records consisted of 120-character household records and 120-character person records, whereas the new modified records are rectangular (each person record is combined with the corresponding household record) with a length of 188, after the deletion of some items. Additional information was added to the data records, including typical educational requirement for current occupation, occupational prestige score, and group identification code. This version also differs from the original public use census samples in other ways: persons aged 15-75 were included, no majority males were included, but the majority males from CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING [UNITED STATES], 1970 PUBLIC USE SAMPLE: MODIFIED 1/1000 5% STATE SAMPLES (ICPSR 7922) were included for convenience, 10 percent of the Black population from each file was included, and Mexican Americans (identified by a Spanish surname) from outside the five southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas were not included in this file. Variables provide information on the housing unit, such as occupancy and vacancy status of house, value of property, commercial use, ratio of rent and property value to family income, availability of plumbing facilities, sewage disposal, complete kitchen facilities, heating facilities, flush toilet, water, television, and telephone. Data are also provided on household characteristics such as household size, family size, and household relationships. Other demographic variables specify age, sex, place of birth, state of residence, Spanish descent, marital status, race, veteran status, income, and ratio of family income to poverty cutoff level. This collection was made available by the National Chicano Research Network of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. See the related collection, CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING [UNITED STATES], 1970 PUBLIC USE SAMPLE: MODIFIED 1/1000 5% STATE SAMPLES (ICPSR 7922).

The Census Tree is the largest-ever database of record links among the historical U.S. censuses, with over 700 million links for people living in the United States between 1850 and 1940. These links allow researchers to construct a longitudinal dataset that is highly representative of the population, and that includes women, Black Americans, and other under-represented populations at unprecedented rates. Each .csv file consists of a crosswalk between the two years indicated in the filename, using the IPUMS histids. For more information, consult the included Read Me file, and visit https://censustree.org.

U.S. Census Bureau Index of Economic Activity - IDEA data was reported at -0.700 % in Apr 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.600 % for Mar 2025. U.S. Census Bureau Index of Economic Activity - IDEA data is updated monthly, averaging 0.070 % from Aug 2004 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 249 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.540 % in Mar 2022 and a record low of -7.710 % in Apr 2020. U.S. Census Bureau Index of Economic Activity - IDEA data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.A: U.S. Census Bureau Index of Economic Activity.

The 1940 Census population schedules were created by the Bureau of the Census in an attempt to enumerate every person living in the United States on April 1, 1940, although some persons were missed. The 1940 census population schedules were digitized by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and released publicly on April 2, 2012. The 1940 Census enumeration district maps contain maps of counties, cities, and other minor civil divisions that show enumeration districts, census tracts, and related boundaries and numbers used for each census. The coverage is nation wide and includes territorial areas. The 1940 Census enumeration district descriptions contain written descriptions of census districts, subdivisions, and enumeration districts.

1940 United States Federal Census contains records from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA by United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls. Year: 1940; Census Place: Upper Dublin, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: m-t0627-03585; Page: 20B; Enumeration District: 46-208 - .

1930 United States Federal Census contains records from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA by United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Year: 1930; Census Place: Upper Dublin, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0143; FHL microfilm: 2341819 - .

Lookup table matching 2020 census tract geographies to their Philadelphia Planning District for aggregations of tract-level data to each of the 18 Planning Districts. Note, the 2020 census tracts were intentionally delineated to align with Philadelphia Planning districts, unlike the prior geography vintages.

The objective of this data collection was to examine inequalities of wealth and the geographic distribution of wealthy individuals in late 18th- and early 19th-century New York and to investigate wealth in relationship to occupation and location. For this study, the entire set of tax assessment records and United States Census records for New York City were computerized and occupational status was added for all entries. The collection addresses topics such as social class structure, demographic factors, occupational status and geographic distribution, property values and geographic distribution, and the relationship of these factors to the political system. Units of analysis were individual property owners and renters for the tax assessment data and heads of households for the census data. Data collected included the individual's name, address, occupation, sex, and race, the type, quantity, and value of real and personal property, and the type and occupancy of the structure at the address. Occupational data from city directories were used to supplement the tax and census data.

Analysis unit

Persons, households, and dwellings

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: yes - Vacant Units: Yes - Households: yes - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: yes

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: no - Households: Dwelling places with fewer than ten persons unrelated to a household head, excluding institutions and transient quarters. - Group quarters: Institutions, transient quarters, and dwelling places with ten or more persons unrelated to a household head.

Universe

Residents of the 50 states (not the outlying areas).

Kind of data

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 11343120.

SAMPLE DESIGN: 1-in-20 national random sample drawn by the U.S. Census Bureau

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The 1980 census employed a single long form questionnaire completed by one-half of housing units in places with a population under 2,500 and one-sixth of other housing units.

This lookup table relates to the web service 2018 Census household data by SA1. The web service contains data from the 2018 Census only, no data from previous censuses has been included.

The household dataset is displayed by statistical area 1 geography and contains information on: • Total households • Tenure of household • Sector of landlord • Weekly rent paid by household, including median weekly rent paid by household • Number of motor vehicles • Access to telecommunication systems (total responses)

The data uses fixed random rounding to protect confidentiality. Some counts of less than 6 are suppressed according to 2018 confidentiality rules. Values of ‘-999’ indicate suppressed data, Values of ‘Null’ indicate data not collected.

For further information on this dataset please refer to the Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census webpage - footnotes for household, Excel workbooks, and CSV files are available to download. Data quality ratings for 2018 Census variables, summarising the quality rating and priority levels for 2018 Census variables, are available.

For information on the statistical area 1 geography please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2018.

Context

There are a number of Kaggle datasets that provide spatial data around New York City. For many of these, it may be quite interesting to relate the data to the demographic and economic characteristics of nearby neighborhoods. I hope this data set will allow for making these comparisons without too much difficulty.

Exploring the data and making maps could be quite interesting as well.

Content

This dataset contains two CSV files:

1. nyc_census_tracts.csv

   This file contains a selection of census data taken from the ACS DP03 and DP05 tables. Things like total population, racial/ethnic demographic information, employment and commuting characteristics, and more are contained here. There is a great deal of additional data in the raw tables retrieved from the US Census Bureau website, so I could easily add more fields if there is enough interest.

   I obtained data for individual census tracts, which typically contain several thousand residents.

2. census_block_loc.csv

   For this file, I used an online FCC census block lookup tool to retrieve the census block code for a 200 x 200 grid containing New York City and a bit of the surrounding area. This file contains the coordinates and associated census block codes along
   with the state and county names to make things a bit more readable to users.

   Each census tract is split into a number of blocks, so one must extract the census tract code from the block code.

Acknowledgements

The data here was taken from the American Community Survey 2015 5-year estimates (https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml).

The census block coordinate data was taken from the FCC Census Block Conversions API (https://www.fcc.gov/general/census-block-conversions-api)

As public data from the US government, this is not subject to copyright within the US and should be considered public domain.