Census records are official documents that contain information about the population of a country or region, collected at regular intervals. They typically include demographic data such as the number of inhabitants, age, gender, race, occupation, marital status, and other relevant information. Census records are primarily used by governments to plan public services, allocate resources, and determine representation in legislative bodies. They also serve as valuable tools for researchers, genealogists, and historians to study population trends, family histories, and social and economic conditions over time.
One of the oldest sources of information used in genealogy are census records; the Romans conducted censuses every five years across the Empire, calling upon every man and his family to return to his place of birth to be counted in order to keep track of the population. However, the Roman census records are not the oldest in the world; the oldest surviving census record in the modern sense is from 2 CE China's Han Dynasty, which showed a population of 57.7 million people living in 12.4 million households across the Empire.
Nowadays, they have become are one of the most frequently used types of records for genealogy research across the world, with the first modern census in the United Kingdom taken in 1840 and in the United States in 1790. Every census is different depending on the location, time period, and purpose of the census. While a census record may not immediately answer a research question such as “What was my grandfather’s birth date,” often, the record offers enough clues to help locate more useful information.
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What is a census?
Narrowly defined for genealogy research purposes, a census is a count of population for a specific location on a specific date. Some censuses are on a national or federal level and occur on a regular schedule. For example, the United States Census is mandated by the Constitution and is a decennial census, meaning it takes place every ten years. Other censuses are on a state or provincial level.
You may encounter terms such as a “school census” or “prison census,” which are not actually censuses. These are simply lists of names and other information used for record-keeping purposes. We’ll restrict the term census for purposes of this article to those that are mandated by law and represent a count of people at a location on a set date.
How is a census taken?
Just as each census is different in terms of frequency, location, and types of information recorded, the method in which the population was counted - the correct term being enumerated - can be different. Even for the same census type, such as the United States Census, the enumeration methods can change over time due to new technologies and efficiencies needed to count a growing population. The 1790 US Census was conducted over an 18 month period with the majority of enumerators covering rural areas on horseback. The recent 2020 US Census was conducted overwhelmingly “online” via the Internet.
What records are created as part of conducting a census?
As you’ve already seen, different censuses create different records. For the United States Census, for example, the 1790 Census enumerators created handwritten records in a table format listing the head of household and a "head count" of other individuals in the household categorized by gender and age. As the population of the US grew, so did the census in terms of what information was collected. What started out as a constitutional mandate for a “headcount” of “residents” taken every ten years, grew to a complex enumeration process collecting over 40 types of information in the 1940 Census, including name, marital status, address, occupation, and even income.
See also
Explore more about census records
- Census Data – Discover census collections on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- The free Census Helper™ feature helps you focus your 1950 census research by scanning your family tree and automatically compiling a list of people who likely appear in the census.
- 6 Tips for Searching Historical Records on MyHeritage from the MyHeritage blog
- 5 online sessions about census records at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- What is ‘Matches by Source’? on the MyHeritage Help Center
- Dozens of census record collections from across the globe are available in the MyHeritage catalog.