NARA expects to release the 1960 Census on April 1, 2032, which is 72 years after the official census day of April 1, 1960. This is the 4th in a series of blog posts about the 1960 census.
This blog post provides a brief overview of the manner in which the 1960 census was conducted. New procedures enabled faster enumeration and reduced the complexity of the enumerator's job.
The 1960 census began on April 1, 1960, in accordance with the requirements of an act of August 31, 1954 (amended August 1957), which codified Title 13 of the United States Code. By mid-April, 85 percent of the population of the United States had been enumerated. The count was up to 98 percent by the end of the April! Several notable changes were made in the procedures for taking and tabulating the census. These changes were:
- Greater use of sampling,
- Development of procedures that gave most householders an opportunity to consult other members and their own records when completing the questionnaire for their families, and
- Use of electronic equipment for nearly all data processing work.
Sampling. In the 1960 census, a 25-percent sample was used for most housing and economic questions. This eliminated nearly 75 percent of the processing expenses that would have otherwise been required. Usefulness of the statistics was not significantly impaired even though the tool resulted in a moderate amount of sampling variation in smaller geographic areas.
Enumeration procedures. The 1960 enumeration was divided into two stages. The first stage concentrated on quick coverage of the population and the collection of a few items for every person and dwelling unit. The second stage was devoted to the collection of more detailed economic and social information required for sample households and dwelling units. Both stages used questionnaires left at the residence to be filled out by one or more members of the family.
The enumeration began prior to April 1, 1960, when an advance census form was delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to each household. The time between delivery of the form and the arrival of an enumerator to collect the household’s information allowed the household to assemble information needed to respond to the census inquiries.
Shortly after April 1, 1960, the second stage of the enumeration began. Enumerators made their rounds to collect the census data and left an additional form at every fourth house visited that contained the sample inquiries. Households receiving the sample form were asked to complete the form and mail it to the local census office in a postage-paid envelope. When these mailed questionnaires were received at the census office, Census Bureau personnel checked the sample forms for accuracy and conducted telephone or personal inquiries to complete unanswered inquiries when necessary.
This two-stage enumeration was believed to be advantageous because, in the past, enumerators (who were temporary employees) were given only brief special training and were burdened with more instructions and work than they could effectively manage. By creating a two-stage enumeration the field work and training were reduced. Approximately one-third of the enumerator work force was retained for work in the second stage, and they received additional training that focused solely upon the content of the sample questions.
In specified areas (about 15 percent of the total population living in areas of low population density and/or having inferior road networks), the two stage enumeration was combined, so that the enumerator collected and recorded sample data in the same interview in which the 100-percent inquiries (basic population questions) were recorded.
NOTES:
Text (lightly edited) courtesy of U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/decennial-publications.1960.html, which draws from (1) A. Ross Eckler, “Plans for the 18th Decennial Census,” presented at the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Cornell University, August 27, 1959, pp. 3-6 (National Archives Identifier 274957093), and (2) Morris H. Hansen, “Procedures for the 1960 Census of Population and Housing,” presented at the annual meeting of the American Statistical Association, Chicago, Il, December 1958 (National Archives Identifier 274956997).
For more background, see 1960 Census: Some Lessons Learned from the 1957 Yonkers Pretest.