Research at the National Archives

Census Tract Data Files, 1940-1970
(Elizabeth Mullen Bogue Files)

Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division Reference Report

Census Tract Data Files
Archival Research Catalog (ARC) identifier: 617523
Collection: Records of the Community and Family Study Center (CFS), University of Chicago

Between about 1967 to about 1986, under the direction of Dr. Donald Bogue, the Community and Family Study Center (CFS) at the University of Chicago created, from Bureau of the Census publications, electronic versions of the 1940, 1950, 1960, and 1970 Censuses summary population and housing statistics for census tracts in most tracted cities and metro areas. Below is a list of the available cities/metro areas; please note that not all tracted cities/metro areas are available for all years. Elizabeth Mullen Bogue and other staff members keypunched the data from the printed publications and also used data tabulations from the 1960 and 1970 Censuses prepared by DUALabs to create the electronic data files. In 1998, Dr. Donald Bogue donated by deed of gift the Census Tract Data Files to the NARA's Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division. This series includes:

  • 1940 Census Tract Data Files for Selected Tracted Cities/Metro Areas
    Data Files: 60 (one per tracted city/metro area; see below)
    Technical Documentation: 62 pages and 10 pages overview

  • 1950 Census Tract Data Files for Selected Tracted Cities/Metro Areas
    Data Files: 59 (one per tracted city/metro area; see below)
    Technical Documentation: 44 pages and 10 pages overview

  • 1960 Census Tract Data Files for Selected Tracted Cities/Metro Areas
    Data Files: 175 (one per tracted city/metro area; see below)
    Technical Documentation: 79 pages and 10 pages overview

  • 1970 Census Tract Data Files for Selected Tracted Cities/Metro Areas
    Data Files: 180 (one per tracted city/metro area; see below)
    Technical Documentation: 133 pages and 10 pages overview

Access

Researchers may order copies of data files for entire census years, for individual cities/metro areas for specific years, or for the entire series on removable media for a cost-recovery fee. Researchers then can analyze the records directly, using whatever hardware and software available to them. For more information see: Ordering Information for Electronic Records. The specific technical output options for these Census Tract Data Files include:

  • Option 1- Exact copies in EBCDIC on magnetic tape: This includes IBM-standard labels, variable block-spanned records, and an EBCDIC record/block counter at the beginning of each block/record (eight characters in length). For the 1960 files, the files are blocked (as preserved) with five records per block. For the second and subsequent records in any block there is only a 4-byte counter at the start of each record, not an 8-byte counter.

  • Option 2- ASCII, with variable length, delimited records on CD or DVD: The original file is converted to ASCII and carriage return-line feed (CRLF) characters replace the EBCDIC record/block counter. Therefore, the records are provided with record delimiters at the end of each logical record and the overall length of the data records (as defined in the original EBCDIC record layout and not counting the delimiters) is decreased by the length of the counter. The position of any data element in the record layout is decreased by as many characters as the length of the counter.

  • Option 3- ASCII, with fixed length, delimited records on CD or DVD: The original format file is converted to ASCII. The shorter records (i.e. the "tract level" records) are padded to the length of the longest record in the file. Carriage return-line feed characters are inserted at the end of each logical record of data and the EBCDIC record/block counter is converted to a four-digit ASCII counter at the beginning of each logical record. Therefore, the overall length of the data records in the files (as defined in the original or EBCDIC record layout and not counting the delimiters) is decreased by four characters. The position of any data element in the records in the files is four characters less than that defined in the original record layout.

Available Tracted Cities/Metro Areas by Year

Metro Area/City Name 1940 1950 1960 1970
Abilene, TX     XX
Akron, OH XXXX
Albany, GA       X
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY     X  
Albuquerque, NM     XX
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ     XX
Altoona, PA     XX
Amarillo, TX       X
Anderson, IN       X
Ann Arbor, MI     XX
Appleton-Oshkosh, WI       X
Asheville, NC       X
Atlanta, GA XXXX
Atlantic City, NJ X  XX
Augusta, GA X  XX
Austin, TX XXXX
Bakersfield, CA     X  
Baltimore, MD XXXX
Baton Rouge, LA     XX
Bay City, MI       X
Beaumont, TX     XX
Berkeley, CA X      
Billings, MT       X
Biloxi-Gulfport, MS       X
Binghamton, NY     X  
Birmingham, AL XXX  
Bloomington-Normal, IL       X
Boise City, ID       X
Boston, MA XXX  
Bridgeport, CT   XXX
Bristol, CT       X
Brockton, MA     XX
Brownsville-Harlingen-San-Benito, TX       X
Bryan-College Station, TX       X
Buffalo, NY XXXX
Cambridge, MA X      
Camden, NJ X      
Canton, OH     XX
Cedar Rapids, IA       X
Champaign-Urbana, IL       X
Charleston, SC     XX
Charleston, WV       X
Charlotte, NC     XX
Chattanooga, TN-GA   XXX
Chicago, IL XXX  
Cincinnati, OH-KY XXX  
Cleveland, OH XXXX
Colorado Springs, CO     XX
Columbia, MO       X
Columbia, SC     XX
Columbus, GA-AL     X  
Columbus, OH XXXX
Corpus Christi, TX     XX
Dallas, TX XXXX
Danbury, CT       X
Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, IA-IL     X  
Dayton, OH XXXX
Decatur, IL     XX
Denver, CO XXXX
Des Moines, IA X  XX
Detroit, MI XXX  
Duluth-Superior, MI-WI XXXX
Durham, NC   XXX
Elizabeth, NJ X      
El Paso, TX     XX
Erie, PA     XX
Eugene, OR       X
Evansville, IN-KY     XX
Fall River, MA-RI     X  
Fayetteville, NC       X
Fitchburg-Leominster, MA       X
Flint, MI XXXX
Fresno, CA     X  
Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, FL       X
Ft. Smith, AR     XX
Ft. Wayne, IN     XX
Ft. Worth, TX   XX  
Gadsden, AL     X  
Gainesville, FL       X
Galveston-Texas City, TX     XX
Gary-Hammond-East Chicago, IN     X  
Grand Rapids, MI     XX
Great Falls, MT       X
Green Bay, WI     XX
Greensboro-High Point, NC   XXX
Greenville, SC     XX
Hamilton-Middletown, OH     XX
Harrisburg, PA     XX
Hartford, CT XXXX
Honolulu, HI     XX
Houston, TX XXXX
Indianapolis, IN XXXX
Jacksonville, FL     XX
Jackson, MI     XX
Jackson, MS       X
Jersey City, NJ X  X  
Johnstown, PA     XX
Kalamazoo, MI   XXX
Kansas City, KS-MO XXXX
Kenosha, WI       X
Knoxville, TN     XX
La Crosse, WI       X
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN       X
Lafayette, LA       X
Lake Charles, LA       X
Lancaster, PA     XX
Lansing, MI     XX
Laredo, TX     XX
Las Vegas, NV     XX
Lawrence-Haverhill, MA-NH     XX
Lawton, OK       X
Lewiston-Auburn, ME       X
Lexington, KY     XX
Lima, OH     XX
Lincoln, NE     XX
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR     XX
Long Beach, CA X      
Lorain-Elyria, OH     X  
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA X  X  
Louisville, KY-IN XXX  
Lowell, MA     XX
Lubbock, TX     XX
Lynchburg, VA       X
Macon, GA X  XX
Madison, WI     XX
Manchester, NH     XX
Mansfield, OH       X
Memphis, TN XXXX
Meriden, CT       X
Miami, FL   XX  
Midland, TX       X
Milwaukee, WI XXXX
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN X  X  
Mobile, AL     X  
Monroe, LA     XX
Montgomery, AL     X  
Muncie, IN     XX
Muskegon-Muskegon Heights, MI     XX
Nashua, NH       X
Nashville, TN XXXX
New Bedford, MA     X  
New Britain, CT     XX
New Haven, CT XXX  
New Orleans, LA XXXX
New York, NY X  X  
Newark, NJ X  X  
Newport News-Hampton, VA     XX
Norfolk-Portsmouth, VA   XX  
Norwalk, CT     X  
Odessa, TX     XX
Ogden, UT     XX
Oakland, CA X      
Oklahoma City, OK XXX  
Omaha, NE   XX  
Orlando, FL     XX
Paterson-Clifton-Passaic, NJ XXX  
Pensacola, FL       X
Peoria, IL     XX
Petersburg-Colonial Heights, VA       X
Philadelphia, PA XXX  
Phoenix, AZ     XX
Pine Bluff, AR       X
Pittsburgh, PA XXXX
Pittsfield, MA     XX
Portland, ME     XX
Portland, OR-WA XXXX
Providence-Pawtucket, RI-MA XXXX
Provo-Orem, UT       X
Pueblo, CO     XX
Racine, WI       X
Raleigh, NC     XX
Reading, PA     XX
Reno, NV       X
Richmond, VA XXXX
Roanoke, VA       X
Rochester, MN       X
Rochester, NY XXXX
Rockford, IL     XX
Sacramento, CA   XX  
Saginaw, MI     XX
St. Joseph, MO       X
St. Louis, MO-IL XXXX
St. Paul, MN X      
Salem, OR       X
Salt Lake City, UT     XX
San Angelo, TX     XX
San Antonio, TX     XX
San Bernardino-Riverside-Ontario, CA     X  
San Diego, CA   XX  
San Francisco, CA X  X  
San Jose, CA   XX  
Santa Barbara, CA     X  
Savannah, GA X  XX
Scranton, PA     XX
Seattle, WA XXX  
Sherman-Denison, TX       X
Shreveport, LA     XX
Sioux City, IA     XX
Sioux Falls, SD       X
South Bend, IN     XX
Spokane, WA   XXX
Springfield, IL       X
Springfield, MO     XX
Springfield-Chicopee-Holyoke, MA   XX  
Springfield, OH     XX
Stamford, CT     X  
Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV     X  
Stockton, CA     X  
Syracuse, NY XXXX
Tacoma, WA   XXX
Tallahassee, FL       X
Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL     X  
Terre Haute, IN       X
Texarkana, TX-AR     XX
Toledo, OH XXXX
Topeka, KS     XX
Trenton, NJ XXXX
Tucson, AZ     XX
Tulsa, OK     XX
Tyler, TX     XX
Utica-Rome, NY   XXX
Waco, TX     XX
Washington, DC-MD-VA XXXX
Waterbury, CT     X  
Waterloo, IA     XX
West Palm Beach, FL       X
Westchester Co., NY   X    
Wheeling, WV-OH     X  
Wichita Falls, TX     X  
Wichita, KS   XXX
Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA     XX
Wilmington, DE-NJ     XX
Wilmington, NC       X
Winston-Salem, NC     X  
Worcester, MA     XX
Yonkers, NY X      
York, PA     XX
Youngstown-Warren, OH     XX

Contact Information

Reference Services
Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division
National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001
(301) 837-0470
e-mail: cer@nara.gov

October 2007

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