School Enrollment

Decennial Census Data on School Enrollment

The Decennial Census occurs every 10 years, in years ending in zero, to count the population and housing units for the entire United States. Its primary purpose is to provide the population counts that determine how seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned.

Data on School Enrollment characteristics are available for the U.S., 50 states and the District of Columbia, counties, and subcounty statistical areas (such as zip codes and block groups). The decennial census has included a question on school enrollment since 1840. The question changed over the decades and in 1910 the enrollment question asked if the respondent had been enrolled at sometime since September of the previous year. By 1930 the term "college" was added to the enrollment question. In 1940 the school enrollment item limited the time frame to "enrollment since February 1" of the census year, a concept still used today. Also in 1940, school enrollment was collected for every person enumerated in the census (i.e., 100% data) and on a sample basis thereafter.

DATA TABLES, PRODUCTS AND REPORTS

Census 2000

School Enrollment: 2000

• Report (C2KBR-26) [PDF – 525k]

Education and School Enrollment: 2000 (PHC-T-39)

• Detailed Tables

1990 Census

We the Americans: Our Education (WE-11)

• Report [PDF – 254k]

1990 Census of Population: Education in The United States (CP-3-4)

• Report (A report containing detailed tables on education and other characteristics.) [PDF - 9M]

We asked…You told us: Education (CQC-13)

• Report (This report is one in a series that shows the questions, in this case school enrollment and educational attainment, asked in the 1990 census and the answers that were given.) [PDF - 163k]

AVAILABLE TABULATIONS

Tables from Census 2000 and selected tables from the 1990 Census can be accessed through American Factfinder.

Tables from the 1980 Census and prior years can be access through the Census of Population and Housing website. The tables are all scanned copies of the original published Decennial Census volumes.