Factfinding is one of America’s oldest activities. In the early 1600s, a census was taken in Virginia, and people were counted in nearly all of the British colonies that became the United States at the time of the Revolutionary War. (There also were censuses in other areas of the country before they became parts of the United States.)

Following independence, there was an almost immediate need for a census of the entire Nation. Both the number of seats each state was to have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the states’ respective shares in paying for the war were to be based on population.

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Availability of Census Records

Individual census records from 1790 to 1950 are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration, not the U.S. Census Bureau. Publications related to the census data collected from 1790 to 2020 are available at https://www.census.gov/library.html. Visit the National Archives Web site to access 1940 and 1950 Census records. Decennial census records are confidential for 72 years to protect respondents' privacy. Records from the 1950 to 2010 censuses can only be obtained by the person named in the record or their heir after submitting form BC-600 or BC-600sp (Spanish). Online subscription services are available to access the 1790–1950 census records. Many public libraries provide access to these services free of charge to their patrons. Contact your local library to inquire if it has subscribed to one of these services.

Page Last Revised - September 25, 2024

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