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‘A general overview of the 1940 census as the “permanent inventory of the nation,” this film emphasizes the responsibility of all citizens to participate. It review the three main parts of the census, including the population, agriculture, and housing schedules, and delves into the background of the census and the reasons behind the questions. The duties of the enumerators are also reviewed, highlighting the three major principles of accuracy, complete coverage, and confidential answers.
For more information about the 1940 Census, and to use it as a research tool, visit ‘
Public domain film from the US Government, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
The Sixteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.3 percent over the 1930 population of 123,202,624 persons. The census date of record was April 1, 1940. A number of new questions were asked including where people were 5 years before, highest educational grade achieved, and information about wages. This census introduced sampling techniques; one in 20 people were asked additional questions on the census form. Other innovations included a field test of the census in 1939…
Data availability
Following completion of the census, the original enumeration sheets were microfilmed; after which the original sheets were destroyed.
As required by Title 13 of the U.S. Code, access to personally identifiable information from census records was restricted for 72 years. Non-personally identifiable information Microdata from the 1940 census is freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Also, aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.
On April 2, 2012—72 years after the census was taken—microfilmed images of the 1940 census enumeration sheets were released to the public by the National Archives and Records Administration. The records are indexed only by enumeration district upon initial release; several organizations are compiling indices, in some cases through crowdsourcing…
About the 1940 Census
The National Archives released the 1940 census to the public on April 2, 2012 after a mandatory 72-year waiting period. This website, designed and hosted by Archives.com, provides access to digital images of the census — more than 3.8 million pages.
The 1940 census was taken in April 1940 (official date was April 1, though entries were recorded throughout early April). The Federal government requires a census to be taken once every ten years for the apportionment of members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The first census was taken in 1790. Over the years, the format of census schedules changed and more questions were asked.
See the Glossary for an explanation of common terms used throughout this website.
Visit Getting Started to begin your search.
Introduction to the 1940 census
Census records are the only records that describe the entire population of the United States on a particular day. The 1940 census is no different. The answers given to the census takers tell us, in detail, what the United States looked like on April 1, 1940, and what issues were most relevant to Americans after a decade of economic depression.
The 1940 census reflects economic tumult of the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal recovery program of the 1930s. Between 1930 and 1940, the population of the Continental United States increased 7.2% to 131,669,275. The territories of Alaska, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and the American Virgin Islands comprised 2,477,023 people.
Besides name, age, relationship, and occupation, the 1940 census included questions about internal migration; employment status; participation in the New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and National Youth Administration (NYA) programs; and years of education.,,
