New Jersey Census

Revision as of 15:55, 3 November 2021 by Caileigholdroyd (talk | contribs) (1950 Release Date)
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Population Schedules

Starting in 1790, federal population schedules were taken every 10 years in the United States. Click here for more information about federal census records.

New Jersey was the 3rd state to join the Union on December 18, 1787. New Jersey census records for the first four federal census--1790, 1800 (except for Cumberland County), 1810, and 1820--have not survived. Except for parts of Hudson County, the 1890 (11th census) records were destroyed in a fire at the National Archives in 1921.

United States Federal Censuses with Online Links
1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840
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1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900
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1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960
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Release Date and Research Help Release Date
April 1, 2032

Online Resources

Template:Census Online New Jersey

Tips
  • If at first you don't find a name, try again under another spelling.
  • Photocopy each ancestor's census. Identify where you found it.
  • Look for an ancestor in every census during her or his lifetime.
  • On the family group record show each person's census listings.
  • Study others in the same household, neighbors, and anyone with the similar names nearby on the census in community context.


  • For a list of the exact date of each federal census, click here.

Microfilm images

Copies of these censuses can be found in the following repositories: National Archives and all of its regional centers, Family History Library, New Jersey Historical Society, New Jersey State Archives, Newark Public Library, Rutgers University Library and the New Jersey State Library.


Federal Census Microfilms Available from the Family History Library
1940 N/A 1910 and Soundex 1870 
1930 1900 and Soundex 1860
1920 and Soundex 1880 and Soundex 1850




Federal Census Microfilms Available from the National Archives
1940 N/A 1900 T623and Soundex T1060 1860 M653
1930 T626 1890 fragments M407 and index M496 1850 M432
1920 T625 and Soundex M1576 1880 T9 and Soundex T763 1840 M704 
1910 T624 1870 M593 1830 M19

Indexes: fiche, film, or book

For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of New Jersey, click here

Federal non-population schedules

Online indexes and images

Online Federal Non-Population Schedules for New Jersey

Free Free at Some Libraries (usually with library card) Pay
Year Type Record Search Census Bureau Google Book Heritage Quest Ancestry FHL Ancestry Library Ancestry Home
1890 Veterans - - - Link Link Link
1880 Defective - - - - Link Link Link
1880 Mortality Link - - - Link Link Link
1870 Mortality Link - - - Link Link Link
1860 Mortality Link - - - Link Link Link
1850 Slave owner Link - - Link[1] Link Link Link
1850 Mortality Link - - - Link Link Link
1840 Pensioners Link BookLink BookLink - Link Link Link

Microfilm images

  • United States. Census Office. 11th Census, 1890. Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War. File Microcopies of Records in the National Archives, number 123. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1948. (Family History Library films 338200-202.)
  • United States. Census Office. Census of New Jersey, 1850-1880; Third Series (of Persons Who Died During the Years Ending 30 June 1850, 1 June 1860; 1 June 1870; 31 May 1880. Trenton, New Jersey: State Library of Archives and History, Department of Education, 1996. (Family History Library films 802952-55.) The 1880 schedules are for Atlantic to Hudson counties only.

Indexes: fiche, film, or book

For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of New Jersey, click here.

State, territorial, and colonial censuses

New Jersey often took censuses in the years between the federal censuses, the dates are listed below. State census records may have columns that were different or more unusual than those found on federal censuses. The responses and years of coverage may give additional information on the family.

The original records and microfilm copies of state censuses are at the New Jersey State Archives. Copies of the 1905 and 1915 censuses are also at the New Jersey Department of Health. The Newark Public Library, New Jersey State Library, Rutgers University Library, and Family History Library have microfilm copies of all New Jersey state censuses. State censuses were taken beginning in 1855. Some records are missing, as indicated below:

  • 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 - All counties are available.
  • 1875 - Only Essex, Hunterdon, Monmouth, and Sussex counties are available.
  • 1865 - Missing Cape May, Mercer, Morris, Ocean, Somerset, and Warren counties and incomplete for the others.
  • 1855 - Missing Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean, and Salem counties and incomplete for the others.
  • 1693 A special census was taken of Swedes who were associated with the Swedish Lutheran Church and who were living in Pennsylvania, Delaware, west New Jersey, and Cecil County, Maryland. The census and an index to it are in Craig, Peter Stebbins. The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware. Winter Park, Florida: SAG Publications, 1993. (Family History Library book 973 X4c.)
  • 1671 New Castle County, Delaware; Philadelphia and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington County, New Jersey.[2]

Existing and lost censuses

For a list of available and missing New Jersey censuses, click here.

Why use a census?

A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses

Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:

Sources and footnotes

  1. HeritageQuest has slave owner schedule images only.
  2. Peter Stebbins Craig, 1671 Census of the Delaware (Philadelphia, Pa.: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1999)[FHL Book 974 X2c 1671].


Wiki articles describing online collections are found at: