1930 Census
Web Sites:
Reverend Smith enumerates Navajo camp. (Courtesy of Census Bureau)
Press Kit:
- Press Release: National
Archives to Release 1930 Census on April 1, 2002
- Press Release: Media Alert:
1930 Census Opening Ceremony at the National Archives
- Press Release: National
Archives Opens 1930 Census Records to the Public (U.S. Census Bureau
Public Information Office)
- 1930 Census FAQs
- Questions Asked on the 1930 Census
- Behind the Scenes: Preserving the 1930 Census
- Background Information
on the 1930 Census
- Nationwide NARA Facilities: Where the 1930 Census
Will Open on April 1, 2002
- Factsheet on the National Archives and Records Administration
1930 Census FAQs
- The Census Microfilm Locator is an online searchable database at http://1930census.archives.gov.
You can search by state, county, township, institution, or other place names.
As long as the place or institution is included in the description of the
enumeration districts, it can be found.
- To aid researchers, the National Archives has purchased some microfilmed
city directories for the years around 1930. These are not National Archives
publications and can be neither purchased nor rented from NARA.
- Microfilm publication T1224, Descriptions of Enumeration Districts,
1830-1950 (156 rolls). The geographic descriptions are arranged by state,
then by county.
- Microfilm publication M1930, Enumeration District Maps for the Fifteenth
Census of the United States, 1930 (36 rolls). These maps show the boundaries
and the number of each enumeration district.
- Microfilm publication M1931, Index to Selected City Streets and Enumeration
Districts, 1930 Census (7 rolls). This series cross references street
addresses with enumeration districts for more than 50 cities.
- Census: 1) a counting of the population; 2) the actual pages of the census schedules
- Schedule: the pages that the enumerators filled out when taking the census
- Enumeration: another word for taking the census
- Enumeration district: abbreviated as ED, it is the area assigned to one enumerator in one census period; two to four weeks in 1930
- Precinct: the limits of an officer's jurisdiction or an election district
- Soundex: an indexing system based on the way a name is pronounced rather than how it is spelled
What is the official census date?
The official census date was April 1, 1930. The release date is April 1, 2002
based on the 72-year privacy restrictions on census records.
Do the originals exist?
No. After filming the census in 1949, the Bureau of the Census destroyed the
originals.
Are there any indexes?
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are Soundexed in their entirety.
The following Kentucky counties are indexed: Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Kenton,
Muhlenberg, Perry, and Pike.
The following West Virginia Counties are indexed: Fayette, Harrison, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, and Raleigh.
If a state isn't Soundexed, how can I search the census?
If you know where the person you are looking for lived, you may still be able
to locate them on the census. There are several different search strategies
you can use to find them.
Definitions of some of the terms used in the census:
Questions Asked on the 1930 Census
Place of abode
1. Street, avenue, road, etc.
2. House number
3. Number of dwelling house in order of visitation
4. Number of family in order of visitation
Name
5. Name of each person whose place of abode on April 1, 1930, was in this family. Enter surname first, then the given name, and middle initial, if any. Include every person living on April 1, 1930. Omit children born since April 1, 1930.
Relation
6. Relationship of this person to the head of the family Home Data
7. Home owned or rented
8. Value of home, if owned, or monthly rental, if rented
9. Radio set
10. Does this family own a farm?
Personal description
11. Sex
12. Color or race
13. Age at last birthday
14. Marital condition
15. Age at first marriage
Education
16. Attended school or college any time since Sept. 1, 1929
17. Whether able to read or write
Place of birth
Place of birth of each person enumerated and of his or her parents. If born
in the United States, give State or Territory. If of foreign birth, give country
in which birthplace is now situated. Distinguish Canada-French from Canada-English,
and Irish Free State from Northern Ireland.
18. Place of birth-person
19. Place of birth-father
20. Place of birth-mother
Mother tongue (or native language) of foreign born
21. Language spoken in home before coming to the United States Citizenship, etc.
22. Year of immigration into the United States
23. Naturalization
24. Whether able to speak English
Occupation & industry
25. Trade, profession, or particular kind of work done
26. Industry or business
27. Class of worker
Employment
Whether actually at work yesterday (or the last regular working day)
28. Yes or no
29. If not, line number on Unemployment schedule [These schedules no longer exist]
Veterans
Whether a veteran of U.S. Military or naval forces
30. Yes or no
31. What war or expedition? Farm schedule
32. Number of farm schedule [These schedules no longer exist]
Behind the Scenes: Preserving the 1930 Census
In the 1940's, shortly after the Census Bureau microfilmed the original records
from the 1930's census, the Bureau destroyed the paper originals.
After the original microfilm was transferred to the National Archives, the
Special Media Lab at the National Archives spent nearly 3 years inspecting
the collection frame by frame, making necessary repairs, identifying and cleaning
original camera negatives, and rehousing them into acid-free archival microfilm
boxes in order to insure that the information was preserved. The Special Media
Microfilm Duplication Lab spent thousands of hours producing high quality
duplicate negatives and positives using state-of-the-art-duplicating machines
never before used on census materials. These duplicating machines rendered
higher quality images by the use of a glass drum and high-tension belt system
with far less loss of definition (focus) than older printing machines. By
using a polyester film-base, the new master negatives have a life expectancy
of 500 years, when the film is stored and handled properly.
The original microfilm, dating from the 1940's, consists of an acetate film-base that has a life expectancy of approximately 100 years. In the near future, the camera original films will be shipped to an off-site cold storage facility to help maximize the remaining life expectancy of the film.
To prepare for the opening of the 1930 census, the National Archives Special Media Preservation Laboratory produced two sets of preservation master negatives and 15 sets of positive reference copies of the 1930 Census microfilm. Each set consists of 2,667 rolls of 35-mm schedules and 1,587 rolls of 16-mm soundex indexes. In all, the lab produced more than 60,000 rolls of duplicate negatives and positives for use by the National Archives 13 regional archives facilities; the Microfilm Reading Room in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, and the microfilm loan program.
Nationwide NARA Facilities: Where the 1930 Census Will Open on April 1, 2002
Alaska NARA's Pacific Alaska Region (Anchorage) 654 West Third Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2145 907-271-2443 | Massachusetts NARA's Northeast Region (Pittsfield) 10 Conte Drive Pittsfield, Massachusetts 01201-8230 413-236-3600 |
California NARA's Pacific Region (Laguna Niguel) 24000 Avila Road, First Floor-East Entrance Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3497 949-360-2641 |
NARA's Northeast Region (Boston) 380 Trapelo Road Wa1tham, Massachusetts 02452-6399 781-647-8104 |
NARA's Pacific Region (San Francisco) 1000 Commodore Drive San Bruno, California 94066-2350 650-876-9009 |
Missouri
NARA's Central Plains Region (Kansas City) 2312 East Bannister Road Kansas City, Missouri 64131-3011 816-926-6272 |
Colorado NARA's Rocky Mountain Region Building Building 46, Denver Federal Center Fifth Street and Center Avenue Denver, Colorado 80225 303-407-5740 |
New York NARA's Northeast Region (New York City) 201 Varick Street New York, New York 10014-4811 212-401-1620 |
District of Columbia National Archives Building Pennsylvania Avenue at 8 Street, NW Washington, DC 20408 Telephone: 202-501-5500 |
Pennsylvania NARA's Mid Atlantic Region (Center City Philadelphia) 900 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-4292 215-597-3000 |
Georgia NARA's Southeast Region 1557 St. Joseph Avenue East Point, Georgia 30344-2593 404-763-7477 |
Texas NARA's Southwest Region 501 West Felix Street, Building I Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405 817-334-5525 |
Illinois
NARA's Great Lakes Region (Chicago) 7358 South Pulaski Road Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898 773-581-7816 |
Washington NARA's Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle) 6125 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, Washington 98115-7999 206-526-6501 |