The 1950 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 158,804,396, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census.
This was the first census in which: More than one state recorded a population of over 10 million Every state and territory recorded a population of over 100,000 All 100 largest cities recorded populations of over 100,000
On April 1, 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration released scanned census enumeration sheets to the general public, in accordance with the 72 year rule.
Census questions
The 1950 census collected the following information from all respondents: address whether house is on a farm name relationship to head of household race sex age marital status birthplace if foreign born, whether naturalized employment status hours worked in week occupation, industry and class of worker
In addition, a sample of individuals were asked additional questions covering income, marital history, fertility, and other topics. Full documentation on the 1950 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
Data availability
Microdata from the 1950 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. Personally identifiable information became available in April 2022.
On April 1, 2022, 72 years after the census was taken, the National Archives and Records Administration released scanned census enumeration sheets to the general public. Soon after, census data will also be made freely searchable by name at other websites.