Frequently Asked Questions

HSUS, the acronym for Historical Statistics of the United States, is the standard source for quantitative indicators of American history. The Millennial edition is a revised, updated, and expanded version of previous three editions - with five Parts instead of two, more than twice as many pages of data and documentation, and thrice the data series as before (37,339 in all).

The edition is unique in organization and content from previous versions. Chapters are preceded by essays that introduce the quantitative history of their subject, provide a guide to the sources, and offer expert advice on the reliability of the data and the limits that might be placed on their interpretation. more...

Who are the publishers of the HSUS Millennial edition?

Unlike previous editions that were published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Cambridge University Press publishes the Millennial Edition with permission from the Census Bureau. More than 80 scholars and 70 funding sources have contributed to this giant collaborative effort.

Can I get usage statistics?

No, usage statistics are no longer available, because there is no longer a requirement to log in or authenticate via your institution.

Why can’t I search HSUS, or save favourites?

In 2026, to ensure the long-term stability of the platform, dynamic features – including ‘search’, ‘save’ and ‘favourites’ – were removed.

Can I customize tables?

You can’t customize tables on the HSUS site, but you can download tables as Excel files to customise offline.

I have found a broken link, will this be fixed?

When HSUS was converted to an archived site in 2025-26, every effort was made to find and fix any broken links. However, in a database of this size, there are potentially some broken links that were not located and will return an error message. Please note that there are no plans to fix any broken links and it is not necessary for users to report them.

Data Organization Questions

How are data organized in this HSUS edition?

HSUS data are arranged by broad subjects in five Parts, each published in a separate volume and each Part containing several chapters. Tables in most chapters are further organized into subsections.

What is a series?

Data, presented in a series, to provide annual or decennial information spanning at least 20 years. Some exceptions exist for special topics (the colonial period and the Confederate States of America), for newly developed series providing the only available data for an important subject field, and for short series that serve as important extensions of longer series.

What is a series identifier?

A series identifier is a unique alphanumeric pairing, (e.g., Aa1), which is assigned to each series of a table. The two letters in the identifier indicate the chapter in which the series resides. Within a chapter, series are numbered sequentially. Sets of contiguous series are identified by means of a series range (for example, series Da42-47). Source citations and table documentation are linked to the data series by means of such identifiers.

Are date ranges inclusive?

Yes, date ranges are always inclusive. For instance, the range 1966-1988 includes the years 1966 and 1988.

Essay Questions

What is included in an essay?

The essays provide a guide to the data, sources, and historical trends emphasized in the literature and introduce each chapter in a Part. They contain a list of references that may be consulted for more detailed information about a given subject.

How can I view the contents of an essay or table?

To view contents:

In the Table of Contents on the homepage, click the arrow next to the content you wish to explore.
Categories will appear, including all the tables and any essays in that section.
Click the title of desired essay or table.

How do I view a footnote in the essays?

Click the footnote number. You will be directed to the bottom of the contents area where the footnote text appears.

Table Questions

How are data represented in a table?

Data are represented in series and span a timeline of years. The series are represented in columns, the years in rows. Row headers are also known as stubs.

What is a series?

A series is a group of typically numerical data or statistics over time, typically years. A series in Historical Statistics is most commonly a column in a table if the table's left-most column contains years.

Some tables contain series that are rows, but in the majority of tables, a series is a column of the table.

For example, the data in column Aa1 below is a series:

Year	Number of people Series ID Aa1
1990	200
1991	400
1992	600
1993	800

What is a table identifier?

A table identifier is an alphanumeric pairing, (e.g., Ab1-10), which is used to identify a table. This is represented by the range of series it contains. For example, the first two tables in the chapter on vital statistics contain 10 to 20 series; they are identified as Table Ab1-10 and Table Ab11-30. Similarly, a group of contiguous tables is identified by a series range. Using the same example, these two tables could be referred to jointly as Tables Ab1-30.

What is table documentation?

Table documentation is information accompanying a table and includes:

Names of contributors who selected, collected, and described the data.
Names of editors who reviewed the data and table documentation for accuracy, completeness, and clarity of presentation.
Data sources. Usually, full citations are presented. Sometimes, when numerous issues of a publication were used, the citations are limited to annual issues or similar notation.
Definition of relevant terms and concepts, providing methodological and historical background, noting unusual values or comparability issues, explaining methods used to calculate derived data, and providing references to sources containing more detailed data or more extensive discussion.

The inclusion of documentation with the tables provides visibility, convenience, and ease of use. Tables may be fully self-documenting, without cross-references to other Parts of the work; however, when cross-references to other tables or essays occur, you are encouraged to follow the references.

See Viewing Table Documentation

Are footnotes the same as table documentation?

No, although the type of information conveyed in footnotes is similar to that in table documentation. The specific purpose of footnotes is to draw attention to issues of particular importance or to comment on matters related to specific columns, rows, or cells in a table.

How are footnotes ordered?

Footnotes are ordered sequentially as follows:

Footnotes for the entire table.
Footnotes for a specific series, arranged from left to right across the table header.
Footnotes attached to the table stub and data area, first arranged top to bottom, and then left to right.

How do I view and download a table group?

Use the Table of Contents on the homepage to expand the Parts and Chapters. Click the name of a table group within any chapter to see the list of tables in that group. Click the DOWNLOAD TABLES IN EXCEL button. You will be prompted to save a zip file, which contains all the tables and their documentation.

Can I download a table?

Yes, you can download tables as Excel files. When viewing tables as a group (for example, Part A – Population > Chapter Aa Population Characteristics > Table Group > Area and Population, Series Aa-109) you can click on the DOWNLOAD TABLES IN EXCEL button and the tables will download as a zip file. You cannot download tables individually.

What is a DOI?

A DOI is a 'Digital Object Identifier', a number typically used online by the academic publishing community to uniquely identify a particular piece of content. The DOI is used widely in academic journals publishing to identify articles, but a DOI can be assigned to any level of content (a paragraph, a chapter, or an entire product).

For more information on DOIs please consult http://www.doi.org/.

The organization CrossRef (http://www.crossref.org/) is a publisher-directed entity that promotes DOI usage.