Old Search

1920 United States Federal Census

Original Images

This database contains images of original records.

Sample Forms
Download blank Census forms
You can fill out the form with information on your ancestor, or just use it to better read the column headings.

Handwriting Help
View a sampling of handwriting examples
The examples should help you read the text on the original images more easily.

Please choose a county in California:

Alameda Marin San Mateo
Alpine Mariposa Santa Barbara
Amador Mendocino Santa Clara
Butte Merced Santa Cruz
Calaveras Modoc Shasta
Colusa Mono Sierra
Contra Costa Monterey Siskiyou
Del Norte Napa Solano
El Dorado Nevada Sonoma
Fresno Orange Stanislaus
Glenn Placer Sutter
Humboldt Plumas Tehama
Imperial Riverside Trinity
Inyo Sacramento Tulare
Kern San Benito Tuolumne
Kings San Bernardino Ventura
Lake San Diego Yolo
Lassen San Francisco Yuba
Los Angeles San Joaquin
Madera San Luis Obispo

Census Records - Counties

After separating the census records into groups by state, the federal government subdivided these records into county groups. Searching for an ancestor on the county level provides a smaller region for research if you remain uncertain about the specific township where your ancestor resided. Researchers should also be aware of boundary line or jurisdictional changes through time. These changes may affect where an ancestor was enumerated on the census, so it remains important to search the counties surrounding the area where your ancestor lived.