Skip to Main Content

Census Research Guide: 1950

About the 1950 Census

Census Bureau's "By Decade" website - includes a variety of publications, questionnaires, datasets, and more

Highlights

  • 17th decennial census
  • US population: 150,697,361
  • California population: 10,586,223

Questions asked (see questionnaire)

Information obtained from all persons: Address; whether house is on farm; name; relationship to head of household; race; sex; age; marital status; place of birth; if foreign born, whether naturalized; employment status; hours worked during week preceding enumeration; occupation, industry, and class of worker.

Information obtained from 20-percent sample: Whether living in same house a year ago; whether living on a farm a year ago; if not in same house, county and state of residence year ago; country of birth of parents; educational attainment; school attendance; if looking for work, number of weeks; weeks worked last year; for each person and each family, earnings last year from wages and salary, from self-employment; other income last year; veteran status.

Information obtained from 3-1/3 percent sample: For persons who worked last year but not in current labor force: occupation, industry, and class of worker on last job; if ever married, whether married more than once; duration of present marital status; for women ever married, number of children ever born.

Supplemental schedules for persons on Indian reservations; infants born in the first 3 months of 1950; Americans overseas.

Finding Statistics

Social Explorer - remote access limited to UCSD affiliates


Finding Publications

Find all 1950 census publications in the library catalog.

Selected publications:

Census Of Population Vol. I: Number of Inhabitants [C 3.14:950/3/4/v.1]

Census Of Population Vol. II: Characteristics of the Population [C3.14:950/3/4/v.2/pt.1-54]

Census Of Population Vol III: Census Tract Statistics (64 parts) [C3.14:950/3/4/v.2/pt #]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Employment and Personal Characteristics [C 3.14:950/3/5/1 A]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports.Occupational Characteristics [C 3.14:950/3/5/1 B]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports.Occupation by Industry [C 3.14:950/3/5/1 C]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Industrial Characteristics [C 3.14:950/3/5/1 D

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. General Characteristics of Families [3.14:950/3/5/2 A]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Institutional Population [3.14:950/3/5/2 C]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Marital Status [C 3.14:950/3/5/2 D]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Duration of Current Marital Status [C 3.14:950/3/5/2 E]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Nativity and Parentage [C 3.14:950/3/5/3 A]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Nonwhite Population by Race

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Persons of Spanish Surname [C 3.14:950/3/5/3 C]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Puerto Ricans in Continental United States [C 3.14:950/3/5/3 D]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. State of Birth [C 3.14:950/3/5/4A]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Population Mobility - States and State Economic Areas [C 3.14:1950/3/5/4 B]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Population Mobility - Farm - Nonfarm Movers [ C 3.14:950/3/5/4 C]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Population Mobility - Characteristics of Migrants [ C 3.14:950/3/5/4 D]

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Characteristics by Size of Place Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Education

Census Of Population Vol IV Special Reports. Fertility [C 3.14:950/3/5/5 C]

Census of Housing Vol. I: General Characteristics [C3.14:950/2/v.1/pt.1-7]

Census of Housing Vol. II: Nonfarm Housing Characteristics [C3.14:950/2/v.2/pt.1-5]

Census of Housing Vol. III: Farm Housing Characteristics [C 3.14:950/2/v.3]

Census of Housing Vol. IV: Residential Financing, Mortgaged Nonfarm Properties [C3.14:950/2/v.4/pt.1-2]

Census of Housing Vol. V: Block Statistics (213 parts) [C 3.14:950/v. 5/pt. #]

Portfolio of United States Census Maps [G1201.E2 U45 1953]