The 1930 US Census was released for public access in 2002. This census included information about 122,775,046 residents of the United States, including the armed forces serving overseas, born on or before April 1, 1930.
Each record in the 1930 Census includes person's name, gender, year of birth, age, place of birth, occupation, education, marital status, race, full address, residence information (owned, rented, farm etc.), military service information, and citizenship information (language spoken, immigration data, etc.). Household members are listed as well.
There were several different schedule forms used during 1930. These included the following; 1. Population schedule, 2. Unemployment schedule, 3. Schedule for the blind and deaf-mutes, 4. Farm schedules, and 5. Schedule for incidental agricultural production and livestock not on farms. Most of us are familiar with the population schedule which is further described below.
Header Information
| Location of residence: | Other resources |
| 1. Town | 1. Enumeration District |
| 2. Ward of City | 2. Supervisor’s District |
| 3. Block Number | 3. Date Enumerated |
| 4. Township | 4. Enumerator |
| 5. County | 5. Sheet Number |
| 6. State | |
| 7. Unincorporated Place | |
| 8. Institution |
The Header Information provides the basic information to find the location of your ancestor. This gives you the town, township, county, and state as well as the enumeration district.
Column Information
The columns of the 1940 US Census provide detailed information about the residents of the United States.
Place of Abode:
Columns 1-4 provide details of the location. This includes the street name (column 1) as well as the house number (column 2). This information can be used to identify specific houses where your family lived which can be mapped on sites such as Google Maps. You can also look up these residences on real estate sites to get current information about them. Occasionally, a street address may not be included. This usually occurs in rural areas or small communities.
Column 3 is the Number of dwelling house in order of visitation. The first house visited by the enumerator will be marked as “1”, the second as “2”, and so on.
Column 4 is the Number of family in order of visitation. The first family visited by the enumerator will be marked as “1”, the second as “2”, and so on. This number may differ from the number in column 3 since in some cases there may be multiple families living in one home or a home may be vacant.
Name: Column 5 provides the name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1930 was that household. This also includes people who are temporarily absent who would be marked with “Ab” after their name. Children under the age of 1 year old may be listed as “Infant” if they haven’t yet been given a name.
Relationship to Head of Household: Column 6 provides the relationship to the head of household. This includes information such as the head of household, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, niece, nephew, etc. It can also provide information on nonrelatives in the household such as lodgers, servants, hired hands, etc. Occasionally the letter “H” may be found after the word wife, mother, or other relation, indicating the home-maker. Occupants of a school or institution were designated as officer, inmate, pupil, patient, prisoner, etc. The use of Partner to indicate a relationship in this census is defined as “If two or more persons share a common abode as partners, write head for one and partner for the other or others.”
Home Data:
Columns 7-10 provide data on the home. This includes information on the ownership, value, whether they live on a farm, and if they own a radio.
Home Owned or Rented: Column 7 indicates if the family owned (O) or rented (R) the residence. This is only to be placed after the head of household. If there are multiple families residing in a home, each head will be marked to indicate ownership or renting.
Value of Home: Column 8 describes the value of the home, if owned, or the monthly rent, if rented. The value of the home is estimated and includes the land as well as the home. The home value will likely not represent the taxed value of the home which is usually below market value. The rental value is based on the amount of rent paid each month. In cases such as when a workman receives lodging as part of his pay, the value of the rent may be estimated. For those who live on a farm (column 10), there should not be a value entered on the census since that number was recorded on the farm schedule. (The 1930 US Farm Schedule is generally not available except for parts of Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The remainder are believed to have been destroyed.)
Radio Set: Column 9 indicates if anyone in the household owned a radio set which would be indicated by the letter “R”. Radio was a new technology which changed the way people received information in the 1920s. During the 1920s, radios were sold for $10 or more. If you compare that to the monthly rent you see on the census pages you can see that they were almost the same cost as one month’s rent for many people. Just over 40% of the households in the 1930 US Census had radios.
Does the family live on a farm?: Column 10 specifically asks if the family lives on a farm, not if they work the farm. In some cases the family may live on the farm but have occupations not related to farming. If the property used to be a farm but had no ongoing farming being done, it would not be considered a farm under the census directions.
Personal Description:
Columns 11-15 include personal information such as sex, race, age and marital status.
Sex: The sex of the individuals would be indicated in column 11 as either Male (M) or Female (F).
Color or Race: Column 12 uses the following descriptions to indicate color or race:
| W | White |
| Neg | Negro |
| Mex | Mexican |
| In | Indian/Native American |
| Ch | Chinese |
| Jp | Japanese |
| Fil | Filipino |
| Hin | Hindu |
| Kor | Korean |
For any others, the race would be written in full. Any mixture of white and nonwhite were reported according to the nonwhite parent. Nonwhite mixtures were categorized based on the race of the father.
Mulattos were considered to be Negro no matter how small the percentage of Negro blood.
Mixed race Indians were recorded as Indian unless their percentage of Indian blood was very small or they were considered as White in their communities. Indians were to be recorded as “full blood” or “mixed blood” in column 19 and their tribe was to be recorded in column 20.
All individuals who were born in Mexico or had parents born in Mexico were considered Mexican unless they were of definitely of another race.
Age at last birthday: Column 13 asks for the person’s age at last birthday prior to April 1, 1930. Often, this is an approximate age so beware of numbers such as 40 or 45 since they may not be the actual age. Children under the age of 5 may have months added to their age, for example the age could be listed as 3 2/12 meaning they are 3 years and 2 months old.
Marital Status: Column 14 lists the person’s marital status as Married (M), Single (S), Widowed (Wd), or Divorced (D).
Age at first marriage: Column 15 lists the person’s age at their first marriage. This field can help researchers determine if a person had been married prior to the current marriage.
Education:
Columns 16 and 17 provide educational information.
Attended school or college: Column 16 asks if the person had attended school anytime since September 1, 1929. This is a Yes/No question and includes night school attendance.
Able to read and write: Column 17 asks individuals 10 years and older if they can read and write in any language. A response of “Yes” indicates that they can read and write in any language while an answer of “No” indicates that they could not read and write in some language. This column is left blank for children under 10.
Place of Birth:
Columns 18-20 provide information of the place of birth of the individual and their parents.
Place of birth of person: Column 18 lists the place of birth of the individual. It will be the state or territory of birth of those born in the United States or the country of birth, as it was known in 1930, for those born outside the United States. After World War I the following countries lost territory: Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, and Turkey. If someone was born in the territories lost by these countries, they would be listed as being born in the country that territory belonged to at the time. Occasionally, the enumerator may have included the name of the territory as clarification of the place of birth. French-Canadians and English-Canadians should have been designated as well as those born in Northern Ireland and Irish Free State. American citizens born abroad will have the country and “Am. cit.” listed in this column. Those born at sea should have been listed as “At sea” in this column.
Place of birth of parents: Columns 19 and 20 list the places of birth of the father and mother of the individual. These will follow the same rules as column 18. Additionally, for parents of Indian heritage, these columns will list the tribe and whether they are “full blood” or “mixed blood”.
Mother tongue of foreign born: Column 21 asks about the mother tongue or native language spoken in the home of foreign born individuals before they came to the United States.
Column A has a code for the State or Mother Tongue.
Column B has a code for Country of Birth.
Column C has a code for Nativity. These codes are blank, 0, 1, 2, or V.
- Blank indicates that both parents are native born.
- For native born citizens, 1 indicates that the father was of foreign birth.
- For native born citizens, 0 means that both parents were foreign born or born at sea.
- “2” indicates that the father was native born and the mother was foreign born.
- “V” indicates that the individual was born at sea and the father was foreign born.
You can research the various codes used in columns A, B and C by visiting: Deciphering Language & Nativity Codes in the 1930 Census
Citizenship:
Columns 22, 23 and 24 provide information on citizenship. Year of Immigration to the United States: Column 22 asks all foreign-born persons about their year of immigration to the United States. For those who have immigrated to the US more than once, this date should be the first year of immigration. Foreign-born meant those individuals born outside the United States and its territories (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Philippine Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Panama Canal Zone, and US Virgin Islands).
Naturalization:
Column 23 provides the status of naturalization for all foreign born individuals. Women who immigrated prior to September 22, 1922, became citizens when their husbands were naturalized. After that date, women had to submit their own applications to be naturalized. The codes used in this column were Na for naturalized, Pa for papers, and AL for alien. However there are some things to be aware of when reading these codes.
- Na - For foreign-born men over 21 years of age this was used for those who had taken out their second papers or final naturalization papers. This could also indicate if they became naturalized while under the age of 21 by the naturalization of at least one parent.
- Na - For foreign-born women this could be used to indicate they had taken out final papers, or been naturalized when her husband was naturalized (prior to September 22, 2022), or was naturalized when under the age of 21 when at least one of her parents were naturalized.
- Na - For foreign-born individuals under the age of 21, Na would be used if at least one of their parents were naturalized.
- Pa - This was used for foreign-born individuals who had not yet been naturalized but who had taken out their first papers. Individuals had to be at least 18 years of age to submit first papers. First papers are also known as declaration of intention.
- Al - This was used for all foreign-born individuals who had not been naturalized or taken out first papers.
Whether able to speak English: Column 24 was used to indicate whether individuals 10 years old and older could speak English. This column was left blank if the individual was under 10 years old.
Occupation and Industry:
Columns 25, 26, 27 and D include information on the person’s occupation.
Occupation: Column 25 lists the “gainful occupation” or the occupation through which the person earns money or the equivalent or produces marketable goods. This should be at least one day per week. Gainful employment does not include women doing housework in the home or children working at home doing chores. Women doing housework outside their home for wages may be listed as housekeeper, servant, chambermaid, cook, laundress or other occupation describing her work. Retired persons and invalids who work infrequently or cannot work at all will be indicated as “none”. Unemployed persons who usually have a regular occupation will list their regular occupation. For individuals who have more than one job, the most important one, meaning the one they earn the most money doing or the one they spend the most time at, will be listed.
Industry: Column 26 is completed for all individuals who have an occupation listed in column 25. This column includes the name of the industry, factory or place where the person works (i.e., coal mine, general store, cotton mill, etc.).
Column D provides a code for the occupation and industry. These codes follow the occupation and industry listed in columns 25 and 26. You can use these codes to help you read the written occupations and industries if they are difficult to read. A key to the codes can be found at: Deciphering Occupation Codes Appended to the 1930 Census
Class of worker: Column 27 includes information on the class of worker. It may use one of the following codes:
- “E” = Employer
- “W” = Wage or salary worker
- “O” = Working on own account. These are independent workers such as farmers who earn a living but are not employed by others or earn salary or wages.
- “NP” = Unpaid family worker. These are used for a wife, son, or daughter, or other relative who works regularly without wages. Examples include those who work on family farms, shops or stores and help contribute to the family income.
Employment:
Columns 28 and 29 indicate if the person was working the day before. This information was important since the Great Depression had started in 1929 with the stock market crash.
Whether actually worked yesterday: Column 28 asks a Yes/No question of whether the person actually worked the previous day. The question was asked to everyone who had an occupation listed in column 25. If the prior day was a holiday, day off, weekend, etc., the question refers to the last regular work day. Individuals temporarily absent from work due to conditions such as illness, injury, lay-offs, or strikes, are to be listed as not at work.
Line number on unemployment schedule: Column 29 is used when a gainful worker has “No” in column 28. If “No” is in column 28, the enumerator was supposed to fill out an Unemployment Schedule. Column 29 lists the line number from the Unemployment Schedule. The Unemployment Schedule included 23 supplemental questions to gain details about the person’s unemployment status. The Unemployment Schedules were destroyed after the statistical analysis was completed, so the information obtained in these supplemental questions is not available. More information about the questions that were asked on the Unemployment Schedule can be found at: [1]1930 Unemployment Schedule Instructions to Enumerators
Veterans:
Columns 30 and 31 include information on veteran’s status.
Column 30 is a Yes/No question about whether the person was a veteran of the US Army, Navy or Marine Corps during a war or expedition. If they were members of the armed forces during any war or expedition, they would be marked “Yes”. The veteran did not have to have fought in the war or expedition, he only had to be a member of the armed forces at the time of the event. If they were not a member of the armed forces, or were a member of the armed forces during peace time, this column would be “No”. Males under the age of 21 and females would be blank.
Column 31 indicates the war or expedition that the veteran’s participated in. The events are indicated as follows:
- WW = World War
- Sp = Spanish-American War
- Civ = Civil War
- Phil = Philippine insurrection
- Box = Boxer Rebellion
- Mex = Mexican expedition
Farm Schedule:
Column 32 includes the Farm Schedule line for those individuals who were listed as “farmers”. The Farm Schedule included supplemental questions about the farm, acreage, livestock, and crops. The majority of the 1930 Farm Schedule was destroyed except for some from Alaska, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
As you can see, there is a wealth of information contained in the 1930 US Census if you know how to read it.
Citing the 1930 US Census:
Here are examples of the citations for the 1930 US Census:
Detailed citation:
1930 U.S. census, _________ County, _______ [State], [Location], population schedule, enumeration district (ED) _____, page __ [(stamped)] or sheet __ [(handwritten)], dwelling __, family ___, line ____, [Name of Person]; digital image, [Source] Archives.gov (https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1930: accessed ________ [Date]); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll _______.
Abbreviated citation:
1930 US census, [County], [State]. population schedule, page ____(stamped), dwelling ____, family ___, [Name of Person].
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
See also
Explore more about the 1930 census
- 1930 United States Federal Census collection on MyHeritage
- The Family History Guide, Census by Decades
- US Census Bureau, 1930 Census Instructions to Enumerators
- US Census Bureau, 1930 Unemployment Schedule Instructions to Enumerators
- Steve Morse, Deciphering Language & Nativity Codes in the 1930 Census
- Steve Morse, Deciphering Occupation Codes Appended to the 1930 Census
- National Archives, 1930 Federal Population Census