Federal Censuses (Statistical Information)
Online Sources | Censuses by Decade | Special CollectionsArticle I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states of the census:
"The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct."
Therefore, every 10 years, since 1790, the U.S. government has conducted a census of the population of its states and territories. The directing administrator or agency has changed from the Secretary of State (1800 to 1840), to the Interior Department (1850 to 1900), to the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Census (1902 to present). If you are looking for pre-1980 data on a specific state, please see our State Censuses subject guide.
The following census materials contain no names. Instead, they feature statistical demographic data that is helpful in painting a picture of a particular geographic location. See Bureau of the Census Catalog of Publications: 1790-1972 (C 3.163/2-2:790-972) for a comprehensive guide to statistics published by the Census Bureau from 1790 to 1972.
Return to main census page
Some of these resources are only available to users on campus, in the library, or by logging in to the University of Colorado system via VPN, subscription resources are marked with a CU symbol.
- American Factfinder (2000-)
- State and County QuickFacts (1999-)
- Social Explorer (1790-) CU
- Historical Census Browser (1790-1960)
- Digitized Decennial Census and Special Reports (PDF and zip files, 1790-2000)
- Missouri Census Data Center and Applinks (1990-) (This application allows the selection of different levels of Census data based on geography.)
Following are links to more in-depth information about materials in the Government Information Library. The lists of publications are based on the Bureau of the Census Catalog of Publications: 1790-1972. These lists include references to microfiche in the CIS Executive Branch Documents (EBD) collection; for a complete list of materials in this collection please consult CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909 and CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1910-1932 (in the Government Information reference area).
Click a link below for access to an online version of that year's decennial census as well as a list of
publications related to it:
- 1st Census, 1790
- 2nd Census, 1800
- 3rd Census, 1810
- 4th Census, 1820
- 5th Census, 1830
- 6th Census, 1840
- 7th Census, 1850
- 8th Census, 1860
- 9th Census, 1870
- 10th Census, 1880
- 11th Census, 1890
- 12th Census 1900
- 13th Census 1910
- 14th Census, 1920
- 15th Census, 1930
- 16th Census, 1940
- 17th Census, 1950
- 18th Census, 1960
- 19th Census, 1970
- 20th Census, 1980
- 21st Census, 1990
- 22nd Census, 2000 -- See American FactFinder 2
- 23rd Census, 2010 -- See American FactFinder 2
Historical non-decennial reports are available on a variety of topics like agriculture; business; Census Bureau activities; dependent, defective, and delinquent classes; industry and manufactures; race; religious bodies; telegraphs and telephones; transportation; and vital statistics.
