Find your ancestors in US Census 1850

1850 U.S. Census Quick Facts

  • 1850 U.S. Census Date:
    June 1, 1850
    (All reported data is “as of” this official date chosen by the census agency)
  • 1850 Census Duration:
    5 months
  • 1850 U.S. Census Population:
    23,191,876
  • President during 1850 Census:
    Zachary Taylor

30 states participated in the 1850 census including the new states of Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, and California. Participating territories included Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.
30 states participated in the 1850 census including the new states of Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, and California. Participating territories included Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.

1850 Census Data: 7th United States Census

  • The 1850 census was the first in which free persons were listed individually and the first census with separate questionnaires about slaves.
  • It took approximately $1,423,000 and 3,231 enumerators to complete the 1850 census, producing 2,165 total pages in published reports.
  • The U.S. population increased by 35.9 percent from the 1840 census to the 1850 census.

Information requested by the 1850 Census

The 1850 census was the first to list every individual in the house and included information such as:


  • Name
  • Age
  • Sex
  • Color
  • Profession, occupation, or trade of each male person over 15 years of age
  • Value of real estate owned
  • Married within the year
  • Attended school within the year
  • Persons over 20 years old who cannot read and write

What was lost from the 1850 U.S. Census?

No major loss of records.

Famous people in history: Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania and published more than 30 novels during an illustrious career best marked by the classic story of Little Women. Alcott wrote the semi-autobiographical novel, about four sisters coming of age, rapidly in 1868.

Before Louisa May Alcott became a best-selling novelist, she worked as a nurse during the Civil War and studied informally with family friends, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Alcott's many published pieces, including her first book Flower Fables published in 1854, helped pull her family out of financial difficulties. She died in 1888 just two days after her father.

Louisa May Alcott and family in Boston during the 1850 Census.
Louisa May Alcott and family in Boston during the 1850 Census.

Historical events surrounding the 1850 U.S. Census

  • September 8, 1850: the Fugitive Slave Act was passed ordering escaped slaves captured in free states be returned to their masters.
  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was published in 1852.
  • February 28, 1854: The Republican Party was founded.