Historical Background
1790 Census
1800 Census
1810 Census
1820 Census
1830 Census
1840 Census
1850 Census
1860 Census
1870 Census
1880 Census
1890 Census
1900 Census
1910 Census
1920 Census
1930 Census
1940 Census
1950 Census
1960 Census
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Historical United States Census Data Browser

The data presented here describe the people and the economy of the US for each state and county from 1790 to 1960.

Image of a Census Taker This site is made available with the cooperation and consent of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The data displayed here were inititally created by ICPSR.

This WWW site is intended to aid in browsing these data files. It is not intended as a tool for downloading data for further research or more involved manipulation. Those who require the original data should contact their ICPSR OR or ICPSR itself.

Data for this site originate in ICPSR study number 0003, "Historical Demographic, Economic and Social Data: The United States, 1790-1970. The data were collected, keypunched and error checked by ICPSR staff under a grants from the National Science Foundation. The selection of data to be included in the data set was carried out under guidelines developed by the American Historical Association. Data sources for the complete data set include US Decennial Censuses and sources such as the US Department of Agriculture, and the National Council of Churches of Christ of the United States. More information on this study can be obtained through ICPSR.

Methodology

Each census year is served through the association of three objects: a SAS system file organizing the data for each census year; a table of variable labels stored using Perl data structures; and a CGI script which parses selected variables and states, writes a SAS control file, and organizes the presentation of the results. Variable labels were taken directly from the machine-readable dictionaries distributed with the data set by ICPSR. Some variables have been created during processing in order to aggregate population or economic characteristics.

Former iterations of this resource used Perl alone to serve the data, but required substantially more manipulation of the data prior to publication on the Web. This lead to errors and proved to be extremely time consuming. The current method not only provides more flexibility for the user, but also requires far less manipulation of the original data files and so, hopefully, produces fewer errors. Data are prepared using a Perl script which reads the dictionary file, writes a database of variable names and labels, and writes a SAS control file to create the system file. No additional manipulation of the data is performed other than standard checks for inconsistencies based upon the column assignments from the data dictionary.

There is, by choice, no Java or JavaScript in any of the following pages. This is in order to try and create a resource compatible with as many browsers as possible. Memory-deprived users and those with slow modems will face challenges when selecting too many variables or trying to view too any states or counties. The Web presents significant challenges in interface design, and the developer would appreciate as much feedback as possible!

If you have questions concerning this Web resource, please email the programmer, Paul Bergen.

URL: census
Last Modified: 3/24/98