Census of Population, 1940 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample (ICPSR 8236)

Published: Jan 12, 2006

Principal Investigator(s):
United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08236.v1

Version V1

Slide tabs to view more

Project Description

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.

Citation

United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population, 1940 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2006-01-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08236.v1

Export Citation:

RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
EndNote

Funding

National Science Foundation (SES-7704135)

Subject Terms

census data census divisions census regions children demographic characteristics ethnicity families household composition housing income marriage metropolitan statistical areas military service occupations population states (USA) vital statistics work

Geographic Coverage

North Carolina Indiana Wyoming Utah Arizona Montana Kentucky California Kansas Florida Delaware Pennsylvania Mississippi Iowa Illinois Texas Connecticut Georgia Virginia Maryland Idaho Vermont Oregon United States Oklahoma Maine Tennessee Alabama Arkansas South Carolina Washington Nebraska West Virginia Massachusetts Colorado Missouri Alaska North Dakota Wisconsin Nevada Rhode Island South Dakota Hawaii Minnesota New York (state) New Jersey Michigan New Mexico New Hampshire Louisiana Ohio

Scope of Project

Time Period(s)

1940

Date of Collection

1978 -- 1983

Data Collection Notes

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.

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.

Methodology

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

All people and households within the United States recorded on the 1940 Census.

Data Source

microfilm copies of original handwritten enumeration schedules from the 1940 Census

Data Type(s)

census/enumeration data

Version(s)

Original Release Date

1984-11-12

Version Date

2006-01-12

Version History

2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 21 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.

Notes

Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions.
The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented.

This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.