About the 1980 Census Questionnaire
1980 Questionnaire – Population
The following information, listed by questions number, was collected from each respondent:
The following questions were asked of all respondents:
- Name
- Relationship to first person listed on the questionnaire
- Sex
- Race
- Age at last birthday
- Month of birth
- Year of birth
- Marital status
- Is this person of Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent
- Since February 1, 1980, has this person attended regular school or college?
- What is the highest grade (or year) of regular school this person has ever attended?
- Did this person finish the highest grade (or year) attended?
The following questions were asked of a sample of respondents:
- In what state or foreign country was the person born?
- If this person was born in a foreign country...
- Is this person a naturalized citizen of the United States?
- When did this person come the the United States to stay?
- Does this person speak a language other than English at home?
- If yes, what is this language?
- If yes, how well does this person speak English?
- What is this person's ancestry?
- Did this person live in this house five years ago?
- If no, where did this person live five years ago?
- When was this person born?
- Before April 1965 (continue with questions 17 - 33)
- April 1965 or later (answer no more questions)
- In April 1975 was this person-
- On active duty in the Armed Forces?
- Attending college?
- Working at a job or business? If yes, full time or part time?
- Is this person a veteran of active-duty military service in the Armed Forces of the United States?
- Was active duty military service during-
- May 1975 or later
- Vietnam era (August 1964 - April 1975)
- February 1955 - July 1964
- Korean conflict (June 1950 - January 1955)
- World War II (September 1940 - July 1947)
- World War I (April 1917 - November 1918)
- Any other time
- Does this person have a physical, mental, or other health condition which has lasted for 6 or more months and which...
- Limits the kind or amount of work this person can do at a job?
- Prevents this person from working at a job?
- Limits or prevents this person from using public transportation?
- If this person is a female, how many babies has she ever had, not counting stillbirths?
- If this person has ever been married-
- Has this person been married more than once?
- Month and year of marriage or first marriage
- If married more than once, did the first marriage end because of the death of the husband (or wife)?
- Did this person work at any time last week?
- How many hours did this person work last week (at all jobs)?
- At what location did this person work last week?
- Address
- Name of city, town, village, or borough
- Is the place inside the incorporated (legal) limits of that city, town, village, or borough?
- County
- State
- ZIP Code
- Last week, how long did it usually take this person to get from home to work (one way)?
- How did this person usually get to work last week?
- Car
- Truck
- Van
- Bus or streetcar
- Railroad
- Subway or elevated
- Taxicab
- Motorcycle
- Bicycle
- Walked only
- Worked at home
- Other
- If the person uses a car, truck, or van- when going to work last week, did this person usually...
- Drive alone
- Share driving
- Dive others only
- Ride as a passenger only
- If the person does not drive alone- how many people, including this person, usually rode to work in the car, truck, or van last week?
- If this person was not at work last week, was this person temporarily absent or on layoff from a job or business last week?
- Has this person been looking for work during the last four weeks?
- If yes, could this person have taken a job last week?
- When did this person last work, even for a few days?
- Industrie
- From whom did this person work?
- What kind of business or industry was this?
- Is this job mainly...
- Fertigungsindustrie
- Wholesale trade
- Retail trade
- Other
- Occupation
- What kind of work was this person doing?
- What were this person's most important activities or duties?
- Was this person-
- Employee of a private company, business, or individual, for wages, salary, or commissions
- Federal government employee
- State government employee
- Local government employee
- Self-employed in own business
- Own business not incorporated
- Own business incorporated
- Working without pay in family business or farm
- Last year (1979), did this person work, even for a few days, at a paid job or in a business or farm?
- If yes, how many weeks did this person work in 1979?
- During the weeks worked in 1979, how many hours did this person usually work each week?
- Of the weeks not worked in 1979 (if any), how many weeks was this person looking for work or on layoff from a job?
- Income in 1979 from...
- Wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, or tips from all jobs
- Own non-farm business, partnership, or professional practice
- Own farm
- Interest, dividends, royalties, or net rental income
- Social Security or Railroad Retirement
- Supplemental Security (SSI), Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), or other public assistance or public welfare payments
- Unemployment compensation, veterans' payments, pensions, alimony, child support, or any other sources of income received regularly
- What was this person's total income from 1979?
1980 Questionnaire – Housing
The first 12 questions on the housing section of the 1980 census questionnaire were asked of all respondents. The rest were asked only to a sample. As with previous censuses, some questions had set answers for the respondent to choose from; where relevant, those answers have been listed. The 1980 census of housing collected the following information, listed by question number:
The following information was collected from all respondents:
- Did you leave anyone out of Question 1 [in the population section of the questionnaire] because you were not sure if the person should be listed?
- Did you list anyone in Question 1 who is away from home right now?
- Is anyone visiting here who is not already listed?
- How many living quarters, occupied or vacant, are at this address?
- Do you enter your living quarters-
- Directly from the outside or through a common or public hall?
- Through someone else's living quarters
- Do you have complete plumbing facilities in your living quarters, that is, hot and cold piped water, a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower?
- Yes, for this household only
- Yes, but also used by another household
- No, have some but not all plumbing facilities
- No plumbing facilities in living quarters
- How many rooms do you have in your living quarters?
- Are your living quarters-
- Owned or being bought by you or by someone else in this household?
- Rented for cash rent?
- Occupied without payment of cash rent?
- Is this apartment (house) part of a condominium?
- If this is a one family house-
- Is this house on a property of 10 or more acres?
- Is any part of the property used as a commercial establishment or medical office?
- If you live in a single family home or a condominium unit which you own or are buying; What is the value of this property, that is, how much do you think this property (house and lot or condominium) would sell for if it were for sale?
- If you pay rent for your living quarters; What is the monthly rent?
The following questions were asked on a sample basis:
- Which best describes this building?
- A mobile home or trailer
- A one-family house detached from any other house
- A one-family house attached to one or more houses
- A building for 2 families
- A building for 3 or 4 families
- A building for 5 to 9 families
- A building for 10 to 19 families
- A building for 20 to 49 families
- A building for 50 or more families
- A boat, tent, van, etc.
- How many stories (floors) in this building?
- If more than four stories, does the building have an elevator?
- Is this building...
- On a city or suburban lot, or on a place of less than 1 acre
- On a place of 1 to 9 acres
- On a place of 10 acres or more
- Last year (1979) how much did sales of crops, livestock, and other farm products from this place amount to?
- Do you get water from-
- A public system (city water department, etc.) or private company
- An individual drilled well
- An individual dug well
- Some other source
- Is this building connected to the public sewer?
- Yes, connected to public sewer
- No, connected to septic tank or cesspool
- No, use other means
- About when was this building originally built?
- When did the person listed in column 1 move into this house or apartment?
- How are your living quarters heated?
- Steam or hot water system
- Central warm air furnace with ducts to individual rooms
- Electric heat pump
- Other built-in electric units
- Floor, wall, or pipeless furnace
- Room heaters with flue or vent, burning gas, oil or kerosene
- Room heaters without flue or vent, burning gas, oil or kerosene
- Fireplaces, stoves, or portable room heaters of any kind
- No heating equipment
- Which fuel is used most for house heating?
- Gas from underground pipes serving the neighborhood
- Gas: bottled, tank, or LP
- Electricity
- Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.
- Coal or coke
- Wood
- Other fuel
- No fuel used
- Which fuel is used most for water heating?
- Gas from underground pipes serving the neighborhood
- Gas: bottled, tank, or LP
- Electricity
- Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.
- Coal or coke
- Wood
- Other fuel
- No fuel used
- Which fuel is used most for cooking?
- Gas from underground pipes serving the neighborhood
- Gas: bottled, tank, or LP
- Electricity
- Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.
- Coal or coke
- Wood
- Other fuel
- No fuel used
- What are the costs of utilities and other fuels in your living quarters?
- Electricity
- Gas
- Water
- Oil, coal, kerosene, wood, etc.
- Do you have complete (a sink with piped water, a range or cook stove, and a refrigerator) kitchen facilities?
- How many bedrooms do you have?
- How many bathrooms do you have?
- Do you have a telephone in your living quarters?
- Do you have air conditioning?
- yes, 1 individual room unit
- yes, 2 or more individual room units
- Yes, a central air-conditioning system
- No
- How many passenger automobiles are owned or regularly used by members of your household?
- None
- 1 automobile
- 2 automobiles
- 3 automobiles or more
- How many vans or trucks of one-tone capacity or less are kept at home for used by members of your household?
These questions were for owners of one-family homes only, not including mobile homes, houses on 10 or more acres, condominium units, or houses with commercial establishments on property
- What were the real estate taxes on this property last year?
- What is the annual premium for fire and hazard insurance on this property?
- Do you have a mortgage, deed of trust, contract to purchase, or similar debt on this property?
- If yes, do you have a second or junior mortgage on this property?
- How much is your total regular monthly payment to the lender?
- Does your regular monthly payment include payments for real estate taxes on this property?
- Does you regular monthly payment include payments for fire and hazard insurance on this property?