Daily AncestorCensus day
Census day is the official date a census describes: every answer, including age and who lived in the house, was meant to be true as of that day.
The enumerator might visit weeks later, but the answers were fixed to census day. A person who died after it was still listed, and a baby born after it was left out.
The date changed over time: the first Monday in August for 1790 to 1820, June 1 for 1830 to 1900, April 15 in 1910, January 1 in 1920, and April 1 in 1930, 1940 and 1950. Knowing the date helps you work out a birth year from the age given.
As seen in a recordName column heading of the 1900 census
Name of each person whose place of abode on June 1, 1900, was in this family
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Census day." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/census-terms/census-day. Last checked 2026-10-03.