Punch Cards Made for the U.S. Census of Population, 1930
Object Details
- U. S. Census Bureau
- Description
- These paper punch cards have the fields used in the U.S. Census of population in 1930. Each is marked: POPULATION, 1930. Each is also marked: TM2021.
- The cards were similar in past ones in that they record the age, gender, race, marriage status, and education status of an individual. The 1930 punch card changed from the 1920 punch card in three ways. The first was the use of a more standardized 12-key punch, which required changing some of the code symbols to make the card puncher’s job a bit easier. The second was a different look and column spacing of the card. The third was changes in the content. Some areas, like household head, were moved to the family card. The columns were numbered and labeled on the bottom of the card.
- Columns indicated (by number):
- 5. Whether the person lived on a farm
- 6. Sex
- 7. Color (or race)
- 8-9. Age (in units of 10)
- 10. Marital State
- 11. Education: NY – not attending school, able to read and write
- NN – not attending school, not able to read or write
- Yes – attending school
- 12. State of birth
- 13. Mother tongue
- 14-15. Country of birth
- 16. Nativity: of individual and parents
- 17. Year immigrated to the U.S.
- 18. Citizenship: Na – native
- Pa – papers
- Al – alien
- 19. Speak English?
- 20-23. Occupation
- 24. Class
- Reference:
- Truesdell, Leon E. The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census,1890-1940: With Outlines of Actual Tabulation Programs. Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1965.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Transfer from Bureau of the Census
- 1930
- ID Number
- 1988.3098.01
- catalog number
- 1988.3098.01
- nonaccession number
- 1988.3098
- Object Name
- Punch Cards, Group of
- punch cards, group of
- Physical Description
- paper (overall material)
- Measurements
- each card: 17 cm x 8.2 cm; 6 11/16 in x 3 7/32 in
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Mathematics
- Science & Mathematics
- Punch Cards
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Record ID
- nmah_1848441
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-8423-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
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