North Carolina Census

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.

Online North Carolina indexes and images

Online Federal and State Population Schedules for North Carolina

Free

Free at Some Libraries (usually with a library card)

Pay

Record Search^[1]

Family Search^[2]

Misc.

Heritage Quest^[3]

Footnote^[4]

Ancestry FHL ed.^[5]

Ancestry Library ed.^[5]

Ancestry Home ed.^[5]

1930

indexes

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Link

images

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Link

1920

indexes

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Link

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Link

images

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Link

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Link

1910

indexes

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Link

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Link

images

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1900

indexes

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images

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partial 1890

indexes

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Link

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Link

images

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Link

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1880

indexes

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images

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1870

indexes

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images

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1860

indexes

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images

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1850

indexes

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images[1]

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1840

indexes

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images

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1830

indexes

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images

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partial 1820

indexes

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partial 1810

indexes

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1800

indexes

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images

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partial 1790

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Transcript^[6]

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1785 State

indexes

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images

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Transcript

1784 State

indexes

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images

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Transcript

Record Search

Family Search

Misc.

Heritage Quest

Footnote

Ancestry FHL ed.

Ancestry Library ed.

Ancestry Home ed.

Free

Free at Some Libraries (usually with a library card)

Pay

Federal population schedules

Microfilm images

**Federal Census Microfilms Available from the Family History Library**
1940 N/A	1900 and Soundex	1850	1810
1930 and Soundex	1880 and Soundex	1840	1800
1920 and Soundex	1870	1830	1790
1910 and Soundex	1860	1820

Indexes: fiche, film, or book

For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of North Carolina, click here

Federal non-population schedules

Online indexes and images

Online Federal Non-Population Schedules for North Carolina
		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	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1870	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1860	Slave owner	-	-	-	Link^[7]	Link	Link	Link
1860	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1850	Slave owner	Link	-	-	Link^[7]	Link	Link	Link
1850	Mortality	Link	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1840	Pensioners	-	BookLink	BookLink	-	Link	Link	Link

Microfilm images

The North Carolina State Archives has these nonpopulation censuses for North Carolina:
Agriculture: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Industry/Manufacturing: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Social Statistics: 1850, 1860, 1870

United States. Census Office. 11th Census, 1890. Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0123. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1948. (On 118 reels, beginning with Family History Library film 338160.

Indexes: fiche, film, or book

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

State and colonial censuses

State and colonial censuses of North Carolina^[8]^[9]

1784-1787 State census^[10]

Existing and lost censuses

For a list of available and missing North Carolina 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

↑ Record Search, a rapidly expanding set of free online indexes and document images, including many United States federal and state censuses; part of FamilySearch.
↑ FamilySearch, a free online service of the Family History Library, including an index of the 1880 federal census of the United States; connected with 1880 census images provided by Ancestry.com, a subscription site.
↑ HeritageQuest has arranged with many subscribing public libraries in the United States to allow users free access on home computers by means of their personal library card numbers. HeritageQuest provides images of all surviving 1790 to 1930 federal censuses, and indexes to many but not all of them.
↑ Footnote.com, a subscription site partnering with the National Archives and includes many federal censuses. Free access is available at many public libraries. New censuses are added frequently.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 Ancestry.com, a subscription site that provides online indexes and images to all surviving federal and many state census records, among other sources. They have three online editions: (1) an FHL edition free only at the Family History Library and a few Family History Centers, (2) a slightly smaller Library edition free only at some public libraries, and (3) a Home edition subscription service for individuals.
↑ In 1907 Congress authorized the Bureau of the Census to publish the names of the heads of families enumerated in the first census of the United States in 1790. These printed volumes, which were originally published in 1907 and 1908, have been digitized and are now available online at the U.S. Census Bureau website.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 HeritageQuest has slave owner schedule images only.
↑ Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992), 89.
↑ Henry J. Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948), 51.
↑ Alvaretta K. Register, State Census of North Carolina, 1784-1787, 2nd rev. ed. (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1973)FHL Book 975.6 X2r. 24 of the 50 counties then existing. This census took three years to complete. It shows heads of households, their residence, and the age categories of their household members. It is indexed.

[1] Record Search, a rapidly expanding set of free online indexes and document images, including many United States federal and state censuses; part of FamilySearch.

[2] FamilySearch, a free online service of the Family History Library, including an index of the 1880 federal census of the United States; connected with 1880 census images provided by Ancestry.com, a subscription site.

[3] HeritageQuest has arranged with many subscribing public libraries in the United States to allow users free access on home computers by means of their personal library card numbers. HeritageQuest provides images of all surviving 1790 to 1930 federal censuses, and indexes to many but not all of them.

[4] Footnote.com, a subscription site partnering with the National Archives and includes many federal censuses. Free access is available at many public libraries. New censuses are added frequently.

[ancest-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 Ancestry.com, a subscription site that provides online indexes and images to all surviving federal and many state census records, among other sources. They have three online editions: (1) an FHL edition free only at the Family History Library and a few Family History Centers, (2) a slightly smaller Library edition free only at some public libraries, and (3) a Home edition subscription service for individuals.

[6] In 1907 Congress authorized the Bureau of the Census to publish the names of the heads of families enumerated in the first census of the United States in 1790. These printed volumes, which were originally published in 1907 and 1908, have been digitized and are now available online at the U.S. Census Bureau website.

[HQSlave-7] 7.0 ^7.1 HeritageQuest has slave owner schedule images only.

[8] Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992), 89.

[9] Henry J. Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948), 51.

[10] Alvaretta K. Register, State Census of North Carolina, 1784-1787, 2nd rev. ed. (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1973)FHL Book 975.6 X2r. 24 of the 50 counties then existing. This census took three years to complete. It shows heads of households, their residence, and the age categories of their household members. It is indexed.

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