Vermont Census Records

US census records contain a wealth of information about the population and demographics of the states. Students, teachers and researchers can use the details of the census to examine topics ranging from changes in population over time to changing attitudes towards immigration and gender roles.

Population figures for Vermont towns from 1790 to 2020 can be found on the Vermont History Explorer website.

The United States Census Bureau website has scanned copies of the published results https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html of the census from 1790 through 2010. For ease of access to the records for Vermont, excerpts for the state counts are available as pdf files below. Each decade includes the composite records for the state and a sample from an individual town.

Vermont in 1791 (PDF 0.4 MB) - Guildhall in 1791

Vermont in 1791 Head of Household list Addison through Orange Counties (PDF 4.7 MB)

Vermont in 1791 Head of Household list Rutland through Windsor Counties (PDF 4.1 MB)

Vermont in 1791 Head of Household index (PDF 6.3 MB)

1800s Census Records

1900s Census Records

2000s Census Records

Ideas for Census Record Lessons

Examine the 1791 census count from Guildhall. Make inferences about the town based on the data. Who lived in the town? Look up Guildhall in the Head of Household list for a transcription of the records. Whose names were listed in the records? Whose names were left out?

Print the bar graphs and use the town census records to graph the changes in population over time. What events influenced the changes in population? How does your town graph compare to graphs from other towns?

Analyze Vermont's total population. In which decades did Vermont's total population decrease? What was happening in the United States in these decades that might have contributed to the decline in population? In which decade did Vermont's population grow by the greatest amount? What events contributed to this growth?