1940 Census Detailed Data Available 4/2/12

The 1940 census will become available to the public on April 2, 2012. The date was chosen to comply with the requirement to protect privacy for 72 years.

If you want to watch a vintage video, you can learn more about the contents of the 1940 census in a 10-minute movie created by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The movie was created in 1939 or 1940 and is typical newsreels of that time. The movie focuses on the role of the enumerators (census takers) but explains who was counted and also provides many details about the 1940 census. You can watch the video on YouTube.