The original IPUMS project began disseminating U.S. census data in 1993, with the goal of making existing U.S. census microdata interoperable across time. IPUMS mission is to democratize access to the world’s social and economic data for current and future generations. IPUMS has worked in collaboration with over a hundred organizations including national statistical agencies, national archives, and genealogical organizations, to create the world’s largest accessible database of census microdata.
Some text in this guide are direct quotes from the IPUMS website and supporting documentation.
Do you want to use detailed census or survey data, but are frustrated with how difficult it is to work with?? Fear not, use IPUMS data instead! They did the work of harmonizing the data for you.
IPUMS currently has nine different data projects with fourteen data collections. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community contexts. Data and services available free of charge.