Press/Journalists

1950 Census Press Kit

1950 Census logoOn April 1, 2022, the National Archives released the 1950 Census (kept confidential for 72 years) online at archives.gov/1950census. See the press release. Anyone, anywhere can search freely—experienced researchers, genealogy buffs, and novices! 

Speak with a trusted expert: Are you a member of the media who is covering the release of the 1950 census records? Upon request, we can share a list of historians, genealogists, and archivists who can provide you with more information for your coverage. Email: public.affairs@nara.gov.

Attention Producers: You can download free footage for your coverage of our 1950 Census launch.

1950 Census Release: What's Old?

  • Outlined in the Constitution and taken every 10 years since 1790, the census is used to define “We the People" by providing a snapshot of the nation's population.

1950 Census Release: What’s New?

  • First time using optical character recognition/artificial intelligence (OCR/AI) for handwriting recognition
  • First time using a transcription tool to improve the name index
  • First chance to download the entire census in bulk
  • First time releasing the census during a pandemic
  • First 1950 Census National Archives Genealogy Series on our YouTube channel

Getting Started

Visual Resources

NARA Blog Posts

refer to caption

Door-to-door census-taking, April 1950.

Posts from NARA's Experts

View all the 1950 Census posts on History Hub

Useful Links

U.S Census Bureau Resources

Selected Photographs of the 1950 Census

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