State Census Records: The Censuses Between the Censuses

Many states took their own censuses, often in years ending in 5. They fill the ten-year gaps, partly replace the lost 1890 census, and sometimes ask questions the federal census never did.

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The federal census comes around only once every ten years, and the 1890 census was almost entirely destroyed. But many states took their own censuses, usually halfway between federal ones, in years ending in 5. Researchers who skip them miss a snapshot of the family five years after (or before) the federal one, sometimes with details the federal census never asked.

Why state censuses matter

• They fill the gaps. A child born and died between federal censuses may appear only in a state census. A family that moved may be caught in between.
• They partly replace 1890. State censuses from 1885, 1892 and 1895 are the closest thing many families have to the lost 1890 federal census.
• They narrow down events. If a family is in Iowa in the 1880 federal census, still there in the 1885 state census, and gone by 1895, you've narrowed their move to a ten-year window and can focus your search.
• Some ask unique questions. Certain state censuses asked about military service, religion, years in the state, or even the names of each person's parents.

Which states took censuses

About half the states took a census at some point, though only some survive. A few examples of the most useful:

• New York: 1825 through 1875 every ten years, then 1892, 1905, 1915 and 1925. The 1892 census is especially valuable because of the lost 1890 federal census. The 1855 and 1865 censuses ask how long each person had lived in the town and county, and the 1865 census asks about Civil War service and deaths.
• Iowa: many years from the territorial period on, including 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1925. The 1925 census asks for the names of each person's parents, including the mother's maiden name, and where the parents were born and married.
• Kansas: every ten years from 1865 to 1925. Many entries give the state each person came to Kansas from.
• Minnesota: 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905.
• Wisconsin: several years including 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905. The earlier ones list only heads of household.
• New Jersey: 1885, 1895, 1905 and 1915.
• Massachusetts: 1855 and 1865, listing every person by name, between the federal censuses of 1850, 1860 and 1870.
• Rhode Island: several years from 1865 through 1935.
• Florida: 1885, 1935 and 1945. The 1945 census is one of very few census records anywhere in the country from the mid-1940s.

In 1885, the federal government also helped five states and territories take a census: Colorado, Dakota Territory, Florida, Nebraska and New Mexico Territory. These follow the 1880 federal format, so they include relationships and parents' birthplaces.

Many other states took censuses in particular years, or have surviving fragments, sometimes only for certain counties. The FamilySearch Research Wiki page for each state lists what exists; look for its "Census" section. You'll find the wiki link on each of our state guides.

Colonial and territorial censuses

Before statehood, many territories took their own counts, partly to prove they had enough people to become a state. Examples include censuses of the Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Dakota and Washington territories. Some early colonial censuses also survive, including several for Rhode Island and Connecticut in the 1700s. These can fill a gap before the first federal census of a state.

How to find them

• FamilySearch has indexes and images for many state censuses free. Search the collection list by state name and "census."
• Ancestry has many of the same and some others, often with better images or indexing.
• State archives and state libraries hold the originals and sometimes put indexes or images online. A few states' censuses are available only there or on microfilm.

Because state census indexes are less used than federal ones, they can be less accurate. If you can't find a family, browse the images for the town where they lived, page by page. It's slower, but it works.

Tips for reading state censuses

• Read the column headings for each year. Questions changed from year to year and state to state. Don't assume a column means what it did on a federal census.
• Watch the date. State censuses were often taken in June, but not always. Ages are as of the census date.
• Compare with the federal census. Line up each family across every federal and state census to build a timeline. Inconsistencies in ages and birthplaces are normal; patterns are what matter.
• Copy it carefully. A census extraction form works for state censuses too; just relabel the columns.

Other "census substitutes"

Where no state census survives, other records work much the same way, listing residents of a place at a moment in time:

• Tax lists, made every year in most counties. See Tax Lists.
• City directories, made every year in most cities. See City Directories.
• Voter registers and poll books
• School censuses, taken by many school districts to count children, sometimes naming parents
• Military census lists, such as state enrollments of men eligible for militia service