The 1930 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during the 1920 census.
It was the first time the effects of suburban sprawl were recorded when, during the Roaring Twenties, a significant portion of the working population of New York City moved to New Jersey, aided by the George Washington Bridge which permitted quick transport from the state to Manhattan. It was also the first in which a city in the Western United States (Los Angeles) reached a population of at least a million people.
Census questions
The 1930 census collected the following information:
- address
- name
- relationship to head of family
- home owned or rented
- if owned, value of home
- if rented, monthly rent
- whether owned a radio set
- whether on a farm
- sex
- race
- age
- marital status and, if married, age at first marriage
- school attendance
- literacy
- birthplace of person, and their parents
- if foreign born:
- language spoken at home before coming to the U. S.
- year of immigration
- whether naturalized
- ability to speak English
- occupation, industry and class of worker
- whether at work previous day (or last regular work day)
- veteran status
- if Indian:
- whether of full or mixed blood
- tribal affiliation
Full documentation for the 1930 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
Data availability
The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in 1949, after which the original sheets were destroyed. The microfilmed census is located on 2,667 rolls of microfilm, and available from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations also host images of the microfilmed census online, and digital indices.
Microdata from the 1930 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.