Social Explorer application is not quite ready for this screen size. Please head to your nearest desktop or tablet device. Visit Homepage
Basic plan
Create Account
Documentation: Census 1960 Tracts Only Set
you are here: choose a survey survey document chapter
Publisher: U.S. Census Bureau
Document: Census Tract Data, 1940-1970: Elizabeth Mullen Bogue File
citation:
Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Censuses of Population and Housing: 1960. Census Tracts. Final Report PHC(1)-11. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1962.
Census Tract Data, 1940-1970: Elizabeth Mullen Bogue File
Documentation for Census Tract Data, 1960: Elizabeth Mullen Bogue File
Theodore J. Hull
April 30, 1999
NN4-CFS-96-999

The data files known as the Census Tract Data, 1950: Elizabeth Mullen Bogue File, were deposited with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) by a deed of gift from Dr. Donald Bogue of The Community and Family Study Center, University of Chicago. The 1950 Census Tract files were originally created by keypunching the data from the printed publications prepared by the Bureau of the Census. Record copies of these publications can be found in the Publication of the U.S. Government (Record Group 287). The 1950 census tract data reported in those publications were manually keypunched by The Community and Family Study Center, under the direction of Dr. Bogue. Much of this work was accomplished by Elizabeth Mullen Bogue, the wife of the principal investigator, Ms. Maggie Gibson, and a number of other students and staff. Related funding for this project (for analysis and student training) came from a number of sources including the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Social Science Division of the University of Chicago.

One of Dr. Bogues students, Dr. Michael White, obtained copies of the Census Tract Data files. Dr. White of the Population Studies and Training Center, Brown University, arranged for the transfer of these files to NARA on behalf of Dr. Bogue. The 1950 Census Tract Data came to NARA in November 1998, along with a copy of the original documentation.

The documentation indicates that the data were originally keypunched onto multiple punchcards for the city/metro area as a whole and for each tract. NARA received 59 files, one per available tracted city, with variable length records. There are two record types in each file; a ' city and metro level' record type with a record length of 2058 and a ' tract level record type with a record length of 1261. Dr. White confirmed that at some point in time the original 80 column records were concatenated into one long record per area. Note that the first eight bytes in each block/record is a binary block length/record counter. NARA prepared record layouts for each record type based on the original documentation and a review of the Census Tract publications for Austin, Texas. A copy of the Austin report is included as part of the technical documentation.

The first two records in each file are for the 'city and metro level data and the remainder of the records in the file contain 'tract level' data, arranged numerically by tract. Each file has two records at the beginning of each file; a 'metro level' record followed by a 'city level' record. When applicable, the 'metro level' record incorporates data tabulated for suburban tracts. In cities without suburban tracts, both a 'metro level' record and city level' record are included in the file, but the data are identical. The 'metro level' and 'city level' records are distinguished by the characters METR and CITY in columns '64-68 of the records.

Documentation for the 1950 Census Tract files consist of this introduction, NARA produced record layouts for the 'city and metro level' and 'tract level' record types, the original documentation for the keypunched files, and a NARA produced sample printout of records from the file for Austin, Texas, and a copy of the publication 'Census Tract Statistics, Austin, Texas'. The 'Census Tract Statistics, Austin, Texas' document includes a list of all tracted cities and indicates those that include surrounding suburban tracts as 'metro' areas. NARA did not receive from the donor, most significantly, files for Honolulu, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Apparently those census tract data were never converted to an electronic form.
A copy of a sample census tract publication is included so that the researcher can cross-check the data element titles and relationships between items presented in the original publication. In the process of preparing the NARA record layouts, NARA staff checked as closely as possible the data element titles and locations in the electronic records. Some discrepancies in the data values between the publication and the data file were noted, especially in calculated values (i.e. median income, median rent). Researchers should be aware that, because of the complexity involved in its preparation, there may be instances where the NARA prepared record layout may be in error. The donor could not supply a record layout that matched the current format of the data.

For researchers obtaining copies of these file converted to ASCII, please note that the first eight characters of each record (i.e. the block size/record length counter) will not be converted. Therefore, the actual record length and data element positions will be eight characters less than that indicated in the NARA prepared record layout. A general rule however is that, following the FILE/RECORD TITLE and NUMBER OF TRACTS fields in the 'city/metro area' records, each data element is eight characters in length. In the 'tract' level data, following the TRACT ID and TRACT SEQUENCE NUMBER fields, . each data element is five characters in length.

Record copies of all census tract publications can be found in the Publications of the U.S. Government (Record Group 287), or in various depository libraries across the United States. Among NARA's cartographic holdings are the original enumeration district maps, which also identify the tract areas for the tracted cities.

File No. File name City No. Rec/Blk No. Bytes Blk Len Max Rec Len Rec Fmt
1 AUSTIN AUSTIN, TX 26 72840 16432 3612 V
2 BEAUMONT BEAUMONT, TX 65 179466 16432 3612 V
3 SHREVE SHREVEPORT, LA 65 179466 16432 3612 V
4 PEORIA PEORIA, ILL 68 187668 16432 3612 V
5 LANCASTER LANCASTER, PA 63 173998 16432 3612 V
6 WILKESBA WILKES-BARRE-HAZLET 97 266954 16432 3612 V
7 LAREDO LAREDO, TX 20 56436 16432 3612 V
8 WACO WACO, TX 44 122052 16432 3612 V
9 CHARLESC CHARLESTON, SC 52 143924 16432 3612 V
10 HAMMIDOH HAMITON-MIDDLETOWN 44 122052 16432 3612 V
11 LAWHAVER LAWRENCE, MASS HAV 32 89244 16432 3612 V
12 WATERLOO WATERLOO, IOWA 32 89244 16432 3612 V
13 GREENSBO GREENSBORO-HIGH POI 66 182200 16432 3612 V
14 LIMA LIMA, OH 34 94712 16432 3612 V
15 LORELYOH LORAIN-ELYRIA, OH 53 146658 16432 3612 V
16 SPRFLDOH SPRINGFIELD, OH 35 97446 16432 3612 V
17 COLSPR COLORADO SPRINGS, C 48 132988 16432 3612 V
18 TOPEKA TOPEKA, KS 41 113850 16432 3612 V
19 KANCITY KANSAS CITY, KS 223 611438 16432 3612 V
20 SANJOSE SAN JOSE, CA 129 354442 16432 3612 V
21 SPOKANE SPOKANE, WASH 75 206806 16432 3612 V
22 TACOMA TACOMA, WASH 72 198604 16432 3612 V
23 BIRMALA BIRMINGHAM, AL 108 297028 16432 3612 V
24 NASHVILL NASHVILLE, TN 88 242348 16432 3612 V
25 DETROIT DETROIT, MICH 782 2139744 16432 3612 V
26 KALAMZO KALAMZOO, MICH 42 116584 16432 3612 V
27 UTICAROM UTICA-ROME, NY 88 242348 16432 3612 V
28 BALTIMOR BALTIMORE, MD 353 966858 16432 3612 V
29 AKRON AKRON, OH 98 269688 16432 3612 V
30 CLEVELAN CLEVELAND, OH 369 1010602 16432 3612 V
31 RALEIGH RALEIGH, NC 46 127520 16432 3612 V
32 SYRACUSE SYRACUSE, NY 119 327102 16432 3612 V
33 WAHSDC WASH, DC-MD-VA 368 1007868 16432 3612 V
34 BOSTON BOSTON, MASS 447 1223854 16432 3612 V
35 WATERBRY WATERBURY, CT 42 116584 16432 3612 V
36 CHARLOTT CHARLOTTE, NC 66 182200 16432 3612 V
37 STEUBNVL STEUBENVILLE, WEIRTO 48 132988 16432 3612 V
38 TUCSON TUCSON, AR 52 143924 16432 3612 V
39 SANANTON SAN ANTONIO, TX 129 354442 16432 3612 V
40 YOUNGSTN YOUNGSTOWN-WARRE 82 225944 16432 3612 V
41 COLUMBOH COLUMBUS, OH 150 411856 16432 3612 V
42 LINCOLN LINCOLN, NEBR 40 111116 16432 3612 V
43 DECATUR DECATUR, ILL 32 89244 16432 3612 V
44 INDPOLIS INDPOLIS, IND 185 507546 16432 3612 V
45 MUNCIE MUNCIE, IND 29 81042 16432 3612 V
46 MILWAUKE MILWAUKE, WI 295 808286 16432 3612 V
47 DENVER DENVER, CO 192 526684 16432 3612 V
48 PROVIDNC PROVIDENCE, RI PAWT 179 491142 16432 3612 V
49 SANBERNA SAN BERNARDINO-RIVE 188 515748 16432 3612 V
50 PUEBLOCO PUEBLO, CO 36 100180 16432 3612 V
51 SANDIEGO SAN DIEGO, CA 243 666118 16432 3612 V
52 LOUISVIL LOUISVILLE, KY-IND 157 430994 16432 3612 V
53 MONTGOM MONTGOMERY, AL 37 102914 16432 3612 V
54 HARRISBG HARRISBURG, PA 88 242348 16432 3612 V
55 MIAMI MIAMI, FL 179 491142 16432 3612 V
56 ORLANDO ORLANDO, FL 59 163062 16432 3612 V
57 FALLRIVR FALL RIVER, MA-RI 29 81042 16432 3612 V
58 OMAHA OMAHA, NEBR 105 288826 16432 3612 V
59 FTWORTH FT. WORTH, TX 136 373580 16432 3612 V
60 WINSTSAL WINSTON-SALEM, MA 43 119318 16432 3612 V
61 TYLER TYLER, TX 23 64638 16432 3612 V
62 ODESSA ODESSA, TX 24 67372 16432 3612 V
63 BAKERSFD BAKERSFIELD. CA 66 182200 16432 3612 V
64 ALLENTWN ALLENTOWN-BETHLEHE 45 124786 16432 3612 V
65 SANFRAN SAN FRANCISCO. CA 596 1631220 16432 3612 V
66 LANSING LANSING, MICH 60 165796 16432 3612 V
67 STLOUIS ST. LOUIS, MO-ILL 346 947720 16432 3612 V
68 FTSMITH FT. SMITH, ARK 14 40032 16432 3612 V
69 LITTROCK LITTLE ROCK, ARK 45 124786 16432 3612 V
70 BATONRGE BATON ROUGE, LA 50 138456 16432 3612 V
71 MONROE MONROE, LA 17 48234 16432 3612 V
72 NORLEANS NEW ORLEANS, LA 183 502078 16432 3612 V
73 OKLACITY OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 98 269688 16432 3612 V
74 TULSAOKL TULSA, OK 93 256018 16432 3612 V
75 ABILENE ABILENE, TEX 30 83776 16432 3612 V
76 CORPUSCH CORPI CHRISTI, TX 42 116584 16432 3612 V
77 GALVESTN GALVESTON-TEXAS CIT 31 86510 16432 3612 V
78 HOUSTON HOUSTON, TX 199 545822 16432 3612 V
79 LUBBOCK LUBBOCK, TX 27 75574 16432 3612 V
80 SANANGEL SAN ANGELO TX 17 48234 16432 3612 V
81 TEXARKAN TEXARKANA, TX-ARK 15 42766 16432 3612 V
82 WICHFALL WICHITA FALL, TX 26 72840 16432 3612 V
83 PHOENIX PHOENIX, AR 131 359910 16432 3612 V
84 LASVEGAS LAS VEGAS, NEV 16 45500 16432 3612 V
85 ALBUQUER ALBUQUERQUE, NM 56 154860 16432 3612 V
86 OGDENUTA OGDEN, UTAH 33 91978 16432 3612 V
87 SALTLAKE SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 90 247816 16432 3612 V
88 SACRAMEN SACRAMENTO, CA 100 275156 16432 3612 V
89 SANTABAR SANTA BARBARA, CA 32 89244 16432 3612 V
90 STOCKTON STOCKTON, CA 57 157594 16432 3612 V
91 SEATTLE SEATTLE, WA 251 687990 16432 3612 V
92 HONOLULU HONOLULU, HI 116 318900 16432 3612 V
93 ROCKFORD ROCKFORD, ILL 45 124786 16432 3612 V
94 EVANSVLL EVANSVILLE, IND-KY 57 157594 16432 3612 V
95 FTWAYNE FT. WAYNE, IND 61 168530 16432 3612 V
96 GARY GARY, IND 74 204072 16432 3612 V
97 SOBEND SOUTH BEND, IND 61 168530 16432 3612 V
98 ANNARBOR ANN ARBOR, MICH 53 146658 16432 3612 V
99 FLINT FLINT, MICH 77 212274 16432 3612 V
100 GDRAPIDS GRRAND RAPIDS, MICH 50 138456 16432 3612 V
101 JACKSON JACKSON, MICH 34 94712 16432 3612 V
102 MUSKEGON MUSKEGON, MICH 28 78308 16432 3612 V
103 SAGINAW SAGINAW, MICH 54 149392 16432 3612 V
104 CHICAGO CHICAGO, ILL 1282 3506744 16432 3612 V
105 CANTON CANTON, OH 77 212274 16432 3612 V
106 CINCINAT CINCINNATI, OH-KY 173 474738 16432 3612 V
107 DAYTON DAYTON, OH 94 258752 16432 3612 V
108 GREENBAY GREEN BAY, WIS 16 45500 16432 3612 V
109 MADISON MADISON, WIS 52 143924 16432 3612 V
110 ELPASO EL PASO, TX 50 138456 16432 3612 V
111 PORTLAND PORTLAND, OR-WA 247 677054 16432 3612 V
112 DALLAS DALLAS, TX 251 687990 16432 3612 V
113 BRIDGPRT BRIDGEPORT, CT 73 201338 16432 3612 V
114 FRESNO FRESNO, CA 86 236880 16432 3612 V
115 WICHKANS WICHITA, KS 99 272422 16432 3612 V
116 PITTSBRG PITTSBRG, PA 677 1852674 16432 3612 V
117 NORFOLKP NORFOLK-PORTSMITH, 152 417324 16432 3612 V
118 DAVENPRT DAVENPRT, IOWA 49 135722 16432 3612 V
119 DESMOINE DES MOINE, IA 61 168530 16432 3612 V
120 SIOUXCIT SIOUX CITY, IA 23 64638 16432 3612 V
121 SPRGFDMO SPRGFD, MO 35 97446 16432 3612 V
122 DULUTH DULUTH-SUPERIOR, MIN 40 111116 16432 3612 V
123 MINNSTPL MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, 354 969592 16432 3612 V
124 WILMNGTN WILMINGTON, DEL-NJ 120 329836 16432 3612 V
125 JACKSNVL JACKSONVILLE, FL 31 86510 16432 3612 V
126 TAMPSTPT TAMPA-ST. PETERSBUR 169 463802 16432 3612 V
127 ATLANTA ATLANTA, GA 181 496610 16432 3612 V
128 AUGUSTA AUGUSTA, GA 27 75571 16432 3612 V
129 COLUMBGA COLUMBUS,GA 61 168530 16432 3612 V
130 MACON MACON, GA 34 94712 16432 3612 V
131 SAVANNAH SAVANNAH, GA 54 149392 16432 3612 V
132 DURHAMNC DURHAM, NC 28 78308 16432 3612 V
133 COLUMBSC COLUMBUS, SC 64 176732 16432 3612 V
134 GREENVIL GREENVILLE, SC 43 119318 16432 3612 V
135 CHATTANO CHATTANOOGA, TENN-G 57 157594 16432 3612 V
136 KNOXVILL KNOXVILLE, TENN 32 89244 16432 3612 V
137 MEMPHIS MEMPHIS, TENN 127 348974 16432 3612 V
138 NEWPORTN NEWPORT NEWS-HAMP 24 67372 16432 3612 V
139 RICHMOND RICHMOND, VA 89 245082 16432 3612 V
140 WHEELING WHEELING, W. VA-OH 24 67372 16432 3612 V
141 GADSALA GADSDEN, AL 30 83776 16432 3612 V
142 LEXINGTN LEXINGTON, KY 30 83776 16432 3612 V
143 MOBALA MOBILE, AL 41 113850 16432 3612 V
144 ATLANTIC ATLANTIC CIPI, NJ 25 70106 16432 3612 V
145 JERSEYCT JERSEY CITY, NJ 156 428260 16432 3612 V
146 NEWARK NEWARK, NJ 381 1043410 16432 3612 V
147 PATTERSN PATERSON-CLIFTON-PA 206 564960 16432 3612 V
148 TRENTON TRENTON, NJ 47 130254 16432 3612 V
149 ALBANY ALBANY-SCHENECTADY 127 348974 16432 3612 V
150 BINGHMTN BINGHAMTON, NY 47 130254 16432 3612 V
151 BUFFALO BUFFALO, NY 216 592300 16432 3612 V
152 ROCHSTNY ROCHESTER, NY 146 400920 16432 3612 V
153 ALTOONA ALTOONA, PA 22 61904 16432 3612 V
154 ERIE ERIE, PA 54 149392 16432 3612 V
155 JOHNSTOWN JOHNSTOWN, PA 31 86510 16432 3612 V
156 READING READING, PA 73 201338 16432 3612 V
157 SCRANTON SCRANTON, PA 33 91978 16432 3612 V
158 YORK YORK, PA 23 64638 16432 3612 V
159 PHILADEL PHILADELPHIA, PA 959 2623662 16432 3612 V
160 HARTFORD HARTFORD, CT 136 373580 16432 3612 V
161 NEWBRITN NEW BRITAIN, CT 25 70106 16432 3612 V
162 NEWHAVEN NEW HAVEN, CT 64 176732 16432 3612 V
163 NORWALK NORWALK, CT 28 78308 16432 3612 V
164 STAMFORD STAMFORD, CT 43 119318 16432 3612 V
165 PRTLNDME PORTLAND, ME 39 108382 16432 3612 V
166 BROCKTON BROCKTON, MA 24 67372 16432 3612 V
167 LOWELL LOWELL, MA 44 122052 16432 3612 V
168 NEWBDFRD NEW BEDFORD, MA 30 83776 16432 3612 V
169 PITTSFLD PITTSFIELD, MA 16 45500 16432 3612 V
170 SPRGFDMA SPRINGFIELD-CHCOPEE 60 165796 16432 3612 V
171 WORCHEST WORCHESTER, MA 67 184934 16432 3612 V
172 MANCHEST MANCHESTER, NH 22 61904 16432 3612 V
173 LOSANGEL LOS ANGELES-LONG BE 1405 3683026 16432 3612 V
174 TOLEDO TOLEDO, OH 105 288826 16432 3612 V
175 NEWYORK NEW YORK, NY 2776 7591340 16432 3612 V


Date : May 5, 1999
Reply to
Ann of : NWME (Hull)
Subject : 1960 Census Tract Level Layout
To : File

Included as part of the technical documentation for the Census Tract Data, 1960: Elizabeth Mullen Bogue file is the original documentation provided with the data files at the time of deposit in the National Archives. Specifically, the documentation provided is the record layout for the tract level records in the data files. Note that the record layout does not account for the first eight bytes which are the embedded block size/RECORD LENGTH COUNTER. Therefore, researchers using the tract level record layout should add eight bytes to the positions indicated in the record layout to identify the exact location of any particular data element. Therefore, the actual length of the tract level records is 2742 bytes; eight bytes longer than that indicated in the original documentation. NARA prepared a layout for the SMSA/CENTRAL CITY record layout based on the listing of data elements presented in the census tract level layout.

« Previous ‹Table of Contents› Next »