The 1950 census is open: the 72-year rule, and how to search it

What it is US population census schedules are confidential for 72 years after the census date, then the National Archives releases them. The 72-year rule is set by law (Public Law 95-416, 1978). The 1950 census was released on April 1, 2022, at https://1950census.archives.gov, free and with no account. How to search it - The National Archives built a name index with handwriting recognition. It is useful but imperfect, so search by place as well as name. - If the name search fails, find the enumeration district (ED). The ED maps and descriptions are on the same site. Locate the street, find its ED, then page through that district's schedules. - FamilySearch has a volunteer-corrected index of the same images, which often catches names the machine index misread: https://www.familysearch.org. What 1950 tells you that earlier censuses do not The 1950 schedules include a sample line: about one person in five received extra questions on income, education, veteran status and, for some, where they lived a year earlier. If your relative fell on a sample line, you get far more detail than the household listing alone. What it does not tell you A census records what one person told an enumerator on one day. Ages, birthplaces and spellings are often wrong. Treat it as evidence to correlate with other records, not proof by itself (see the evidence-vs-proof thread). Next release The 1960 census becomes public in 2032 under the same rule.