1940 United States census

Census questions

The 1940 census collected the following information:

• address
• home owned or rented
  • if owned, value
  • if rented, monthly rent
• whether on a farm
• name
• relationship to head of household
• sex
• race
• age
• marital status
• school attendance
• educational attainment
• birthplace
• if foreign born, citizenship
• location of residence five years ago and whether on a farm
• employment status
• if at work, whether in private or non-emergency government work, or in public emergency work (WPA, CCC, NYA, etc.)
  • if in private or non-emergency government work, hours worked in week
  • if seeking work or on public emergency work, duration of unemployment
• occupation, industry and class of worker
• weeks worked last year
• wage and salary income last year In addition, a sample of individuals were asked additional questions covering age at first marriage, fertility, and other topics. Full documentation on the 1940 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

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.

State rankings

City rankings

Locations of 50 most populous cities

Use for Japanese American internment

During World War II, the Census Bureau responded to numerous information requests from US government agencies, including the US Army and the US Secret Service, to facilitate the internment of Japanese Americans. In his report of the operation, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt wrote that "The most important single source of information prior to the evacuation was the 1940 Census of Population."

References

References

1. "Continuity and Change in the U.S. Decennial Census".
2. (October 1981). "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". [[New York State Library]].
3. The Ancestry Insider. (May 16, 2012). "1940 Census Update for 16 May 2012: Bad News". www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com.
4. "Historical Background". US Census Bureau.
5. "1940 Census".
6. Weinstein, Allen. (April 2008). "Access to genealogy data at NARA grows". National Archives and Records Administration.
7. Weinstein, Allen. (Summer 2008). "Finding Out Who You Are: First Stop, National Archives". National Archives and Records Administration.
8. Daley, Bill. (March 27, 2012). "Unlocking a new door to the 1940s – 1940 census details to be released to public". Chicago Tribune.
9. "1940 Census of Population: Volume 1. Number of Inhabitants".
10. (1998). "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau.
11. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau.
12. [https://archive.org/details/japaneseevacuati00dewi Japanese evacuation from the West coast, 1942 : final report], by De Witt, J. L. (John Lesesne), b. 1880; United States. Army. Western Defense Command
13. [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-the-us-census-b/ Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II]
14. [https://www.npr.org/2018/12/26/636107892/some-japanese-americans-wrongfully-imprisoned-during-wwii-oppose-census-question Some Japanese-Americans Wrongfully Imprisoned During WWII Oppose Census Question]