US census records: the 1950 census and the 72-year rule
The federal census is the same in every state, and the National Archives keeps it. The most recent census you can search by name is 1950.
Why 1950 is the latest
Population census records are closed for 72 years. The National Archives says that is why 1950 is the most recent year available [2]. The 72-year period comes from an October 10, 1952 agreement between the Director of the Census Bureau and the Archivist of the United States [3].
Searching the 1950 census
The 1950 census was released on April 1, 2022. The National Archives provides it free of charge on a dedicated site, with the population schedules, enumeration district maps and enumeration district descriptions [1].
The name index was built with AI and optical character recognition on handwritten pages, so the National Archives says it is not 100 percent accurate [1]. If a person is not found by name, try other spellings or browse by place.
1950census.archives.gov (National Archives) National Archives census records
Earlier censuses: free or paid?
The National Archives has census schedules from 1790 to 1950, and most are digitized by its partners [2]. Its online-resources page describes FamilySearch.org as free with account creation, and Ancestry.com as free from National Archives computers [4]. We have not opened either company's site, so we do not state what a home subscription costs.
How we verified this page
Confirmed on federal government pages
- The 1950 census was released on April 1, 2022 and is free through the National Archives' own site, 1950census.archives.gov.
- A 72-year restriction applies to population census records; 1950 is the most recent year available.
- The 72-year period dates to an October 10, 1952 agreement between the Census Bureau Director and the Archivist of the United States.
- The 1950 name index is built with AI/optical character recognition and the National Archives says it is not 100 percent accurate.
- The National Archives lists FamilySearch.org as free with account creation and Ancestry.com as free from National Archives computers.
Could not verify
- Ancestry, MyHeritage and Newspapers.com subscription prices. We did not open any of their sites.
- Whether FamilySearch's own pages match the National Archives' description today. FamilySearch blocked our fetch.
- How each state's own census (state censuses taken between federal years) is held. We have not covered state censuses yet.
Sources
- National Archives: 1950 census Federal government page read 2026-10-27
- National Archives: Census records Federal government page read 2026-10-27
- National Archives blog: Census Records, the 72-Year Rule Federal government page read 2026-10-27
- National Archives: Online census resources Federal government page read 2026-10-27