1940

About the 1940 census

Highlights

• 16th decennial census
• US population: 131,669,275
• California population: 6,907,387
• New focus on labor and economic issues.
• The Census of Housing was the first nationwide, detailed inventory of housing.
• First census to use sampling.
• Statistics for census tracts reported for the first time for select cities (Note: San Diego not included)

Questions asked

Information obtained from all persons: Address; home owned or rented; value or monthly rental; whether on a farm; name; relationship to head of household; sex; race; age; marital status; school or college attendance; educational attainment; place of birth; citizenship of foreign born; county, State, and town or village of residence 5 years ago and whether on a farm; employment status; if at work, whether in private or nonemergency government work, or in public emergency work (WPA, NYA, CCC, etc.); if in private or nonemergency government work, number of hours worked during week of March 24-30; if seeking work or on public emergency work, duration of unemployment; occupation, industry, and class of worker; number of weeks worked last year; wage or salary income last year and whether received other income of $50 or more.

Information from 5-percent sample: Place of birth of parents; language spoken in home in earliest childhood; veteran status; which war or period of service; whether wife or widow of veteran; whether a child under 18 of a veteran and, if so, whether father is living; whether has Social Security number, and if so, whether deductions were made from all part of wages or salary; occupation, industry, and class of worker; of women ever married-whether married more than once, age at first marriage, and number of children ever born.

Supplemental schedule for infants born during the four months preceding the census.

For more information:

• Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses From 1790 to 2000 Census Bureau.
• Population and Housing Items on the General Census Schedules 1790 - 2000 from U Mich.

Guides & Documentation

Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census. (Ref Desk HA 37 .U55 C66 2000)
See the entry under "decennial census". Includes bibliography for each census.

See: list of all Guides and Documentation