U.S. Decennial Census: Data Sources

Decade by decade information about how to access and use U.S. Census reports.

Ages in King County

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Essential Resources

Social Explorer, U.S. Census Reference 1790-present
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Access for all on-campus; login required from off-campus. Selected Census data from 1790 to the present with tract level data starting in 1940. Social Explorer allows users to create interactive maps and data reports.
Explore Census Data
2000 to present; population, housing, economic and geographic data
Ancestry.com
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Access for all on-campus; login required from off-campus. Census images and indexes from 1790 to 1930, available to the level of individual questionnaire.
Census Reporter
Friendly interface for current U.S. Census data, including visualizations, data comparisons, tables, and GIS export

DataPlanet This link opens in a new window
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Social-science data and statistics from a variety of sources. Trial access to Easy Analytic Software Inc. (EASI) and Claritas Consumer Profiles available through March 23rd, 2023.

SimplyAnalytics
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Access for all on-campus; login required from off-campus. SimplyAnalytics, formerly SimplyMap, lets users quickly create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data for the United States. Requires that users create a free SimplyAnalytics account.
Normalizing tracts, 1940-2010
Important cautionary notes for those seeking to superimpose older Census data on 2010 tract boundaries. This describes Brown University's Longitudinal Tract Database (LTDB).

Sources for Census Data Files (Raw Data)

IPUMS USA 1850 to 2004 (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series from the University of Minnesota).

ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research

United States Census Data, 2000 at ICPSR

Census of Population and Housing, 1790-1950 [United States] Series

Census of Population and Housing, 1990 [United States]: Extract Data

Census of Population and Housing, 1980 [United States]: Extract Data

Census of Population and Housing, 1970 [United States]: Extract Data

Census of Population and Housing [United States],1960 Public Use Sample: Modified 1/1000 State Samples

Census of Population, 1950 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample

Census of Population, 1940 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample

Census of Population, 1910 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample

United State Census Data, 1900: Public Use Sample

Contact

Need help? Call the Government Publications, Maps, Microforms & Newspapers help desk at (206) 543-4164 during desk hours. You can also consult the Ask Us! reference service (24/7)