Census of Population, 1940 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample (ICPSR 8236)
Version Date: Jan 12, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
United States. Bureau of the Census
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08236.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The 1940 Census Public Use Microdata Sample Project was assembled through a collaborative effort between the United States Bureau of the Census and the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin. The collection contains a stratified 1-percent sample of households, with separate records for each household, for each "sample line" respondent, and for each person in the household. These records were encoded from microfilm copies of original handwritten enumeration schedules from the 1940 Census of Population. Geographic identification of the location of the sampled households includes Census regions and divisions, states (except Alaska and Hawaii), standard metropolitan areas (SMAs), and state economic areas (SEAs). Accompanying the data collection is a codebook that includes an abstract, descriptions of sample design, processing procedures and file structure, a data dictionary (record layout), category code lists, and a glossary. Also included is a procedural history of the 1940 Census. Each of the 20 subsamples contains three record types: household, sample line, and person. Household variables describe the location and condition of the household. The sample line records contain variables describing demographic characteristics such as nativity, marital status, number of children, veteran status, wage deductions for Social Security, and occupation. Person records also contain variables describing demographic characteristics including nativity, marital status, family membership, education, employment status, income, and occupation.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
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Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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The data files are arranged by subsample, with each subsample stored as a separate physical file of information. Within each of the 20 subsamples, records are sequenced by state. Extracting all of the records for one state entails reading through all of the 20 physical files and selecting that state's records from each of the 20 subsamples.
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The collection consists of a total of 2,133,800 hierarchical records: 391,034 household records, 391,034 sample line records, and 1,351,732 person records.
Sample View help for Sample
The 1940 Census had both a complete count and a sample component. Individuals selected for the sample component were asked an additional set of questions. Only households with persons who answered the additional questions were included in the public use microdata sample. The collection also contains records of group quarters members who were also on the Census sample line. The 20 subsamples were selected randomly.
Universe View help for Universe
All people and households within the United States recorded on the 1940 Census.
Data Source View help for Data Source
microfilm copies of original handwritten enumeration schedules from the 1940 Census
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
1984-11-12
Version History View help for Version History
- United States. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population, 1940 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample. ICPSR08236-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1984. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08236.v1
2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 21 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.
Notes
These data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?