1940 US Census Records Search

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1940 Ancestry Census Records Search

Where can I find the 1940 U.S. Census?

• Ancestry.com 1940 United States Federal Census
  FREE. The 1940 census is not yet indexed, but is browswable. A complete name index is being compiled but will not be completed for months. The only way to access the census initially will be by location. The census is organized by Enumeration District (ED), so to access the census, you will need to obtain the Enumeration District of your desired location. The best method to find the ED is the 1940 Ed finder
  
  To find the Enumeration District, you need the address. To find the 1940 address, try the 1940 city directories.
  
  
  
  
  
• Transcribed Census Records
  As soon as the 1940 census is released, some of the 1940 census might be transcribed and found on the internet, but it will be a while until this happens. Right now, the volunteer effort is concentrated on indexing the census.
  Search by name, county, state and/or year.
  

  Custom Search
  Search for U.S. census transcriptions on websites across the internet including the U.S. GenWeb Projects.
  
  
  
  
  
• Family Search
  FamilySearch and its partners have coordinated efforts to immediately begin indexing these records to make them searchable online with free access.
  
  
• National Archives
  The National Archives has released the 1940 census online.
  
  

What can I learn from the 1940 Census Records?

• City or town or district or township and county of residence
• Name of the head of each household.
• Relationship to head of household
• Home owned or rented
• Value of home or monthly rental
• Wheter owns a radio
• Whether on a farm
• Sex
• Race
  • W - White
  • Neg - Negro (African-American)
  • Mex - Mexican
  • In - Indian (Native - American), full or mixed blood, and tribal affiliation
  • Ch - Chinese
  • Jp - Japanese
  • Fil - Filipino
  • Hin - Hindu
  • Kor - Korean,
  • Other races are spelled out in full.
• Age
• Marital status, age at first marriage
• School attendance
• Literacy
• Birthplace of person and parents
• If foreign born, language spoken in home.
• Year of immigration
• Whether naturalized
  • Na - Naturalized
  • Pa - First Papers
  • Al - Alien
• Whether speaks English
• Occupation, industry, and class of worker
• Whether at work previous day (or last regular working day)
• Veteran status
  • WW - World War I
  • Sp - Spanish - America War
  • Civ - Civil War
  • Phil - Philippine Insurrection
  • Box - Boxer Rebellion, Mex - Mexican Expedition)

• You can find the value of the person's house or the amount of rent paid
• You can find person's annual income
• You can indentify place of birth and citizenship status. Use this to look for immigration and naturalization dates to ship passenger lists and naturalization record if foreign born. If a US citizen, use to find person in previous sentences
• You can use age listed to calculate an approximate birth date. Use the date along and place of birth to look for birth record and earlier census which may list info about parents.
• You can use the location to look for churches, cemeteries, courthouses, and other places where your ancestor may have left records.
• You can learn where they lived 5 years previous to the census on April 1, 1935.

1. The 1940 census also introduced some new questions.
2. Who answered the the census questions? (Answer marked with a circled X)
3. Did the person worked for the CCC, WPA, or NYA?
4. The income for the 12 months ending the previous year.
5. Where people lived 5 years before
6. Highest educational grade achieved
7. Detailed income and occupation

What states are in the 1940 Census?

Search US Census by year