Deep Dive into the 1950 US Census

Where Can you Find and Search the 1950 census?

You can search the 1950 US census at Ancestry , FamilySearch, The National Archives 1950 Census site and MyHeritage

What time period does the 1950 US census cover?

The 1950 census was taken in April 1950.

What areas does the 1950 US Census cover?

The 1950 US Census schedules cover the 48 states as well as Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and some of the smaller island territories) as of April 1950.

An example of the 1950 US Census

Here is a page of the 1950 Census:

What information can I learn from the 1950 US Census?

The 1950 census contains a great deal of information of value to genealogists. There are 20 sections on each page of the 1950 census, with the 20th section having 3 parts.

1. The street, road or avenue name

2. The house and apartment number

3. Dwelling number

4. Farm or ranch?

5. 3 or more acres?

6. Agriculture questionnaire number

7. Name

8. relationship to head of household

9. Race

10. Sex

11. Age at last birthday

12. married, widowed, divorced or separated

13. State or foreign country of birth

14. if born in a foreign country, is he naturalized?

15. what was the person doing for most of last week? Work, Housekeeping, other, unable to work

16. did the person do any work last week not including housework

17. if no on #16, was the person looking for work?

18. if no on #17, even tho the person did not work last week, do they have a job or business?

19. if yes on #16, how many hours did they work?

20. a) occupation 20 b) industry 20 c) class of worker (P for Private employer, G for Government employer, O for Own business and NP for without pay of a family farm or business

How do I cite the 1950 US census?

The citation I use for Set Name is:

"1950 United States Census," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWJ6-7ZK : accessed 17 March 2023), household of John Smith, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, Enumeration District 32-1001, Sheet 3A, Line 7.”

Explanation:

• "1950 United States Census": The title of the census record.

• "database with images": The type of database where the record was found, indicating that images of the original document are available.

• "FamilySearch": The name of the online database provider.

• "https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWJ6-7ZK": The permanent identifier (URL) for the specific record.

• "accessed 17 March 2023": The date on which the record was accessed.

• "household of John Smith": The name of the person or household listed in the census record.

• "Brooklyn, Kings County, New York": The location where the census was conducted.

• "Enumeration District 32-1001": The specific enumeration district within the location.

• "Sheet 3A, Line 7": The page and line number within the enumeration district where the household appears.

Special Notes:

There were approximately 151 million individuals enumerated this census year. As of March 2023, this is the most recent census publically available.