U.S. Presidents in U.S. Federal Census Records

One of the most fascinating aspects of census research is the fact that everyone is listed. While some will only be known to their family and friends, others may continue on to achieve great things for an entire nation. Today, students, historians, and genealogists can search for historical figures in the U.S. census schedules. It is fun to find a president among those listed — sometimes decades before they held an elected office.

George Washington was the only U.S. President to have been enumerated in just a single Federal Census. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson appear in four, James Madison, James Polk, James Garfield, and John F. Kennedy appear in five each, and then 15 U.S. Presidents have been included in six enumerations, the most common number.

To date, there have been 4 presidents included in nine federal census enumerations — Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, Gerald R. Ford, and Ronald Reagan.

Below is a summary of all U.S. Presidents listed in the order they first held office. The 'Qty' column refers to the number of enumerations they have participated in (through the 2000 census). Since we have an entire site dedicated to celebrity census records, the links below will take you to the corresponding pages at: www.celebritycensus.com