Census Research Guide: 1920

These are computer files intended to be loaded into statistical software for analysis and creating your own tables. In some cases these files can be used with spreadsheet software as well.

Census population schedules (or "name schedules" or "manuscript census") are copies of the original questionnaires collected during each decennial census. They list the individual names and family information of the people enumerated. Unlike the statistics published soon after the census, the population schedules remain confidential for 72 years. 1930 is the most recent population schedule available.

• Online version: Heritage Quest [UCSD only]
• Microform version: Population schedule: California [XF 2478 reel 87-154]

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Highlights

• 14th decennial census
• US population: 105,710,620
• California population: 3,426,861
• For the first time, the majority of Americans were living in urban areas.

Questions asked

Address; name; relationship to head of family; sex; race; age; marital status; year of immigration to U.S.; whether naturalized and year of naturalization; school attendance; literacy; place of birth of person and parents; mother tongue of foreign born; ability to speak English; occupation; industry, and class of worker. Supplemental schedules for the blind and for the deaf.

For more information:

Find all 1920 census publications in the Library.

Multi-year census compilations (compare across years): These sources tend to include statistics for large geographic areas (e.g. states), but can be very useful when comparing statistics over time.

Key publications: