1930 Census

The year is 1930. Most Kansans live on family farms and, for the most part, they prosper. Because of its agricultural base, most Kansans had not been greatly impacted by "Black Tuesday," the stock market crash that had occurred a few months before in October 1929.

Around the nation, construction is just beginning on the Empire State Building in New York. America is entering the Golden Age of Radio. Several Kansans have become well known beyond the state. Newspaper editor William Allen White is called the "Sage of Emporia" for his editorials from the heartland. Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas is vice president, the only American Indian to serve in that office. In 1928 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. John R. "Doc" Brinkley becomes known as the "goat gland doctor", a broadcaster, and nearly wins the gubernatorial election as a write-in candidate.

Kansans stand at a crossroads in 1930. Their prosperity will soon end with the Dust Bowl. The long drought will force many Kansas families to pack their cars, tie their few possessions on their backs, and seek work in the agricultural fields or cities of the West — their role as independent landowners gone forever.

From 1929-1932 the income of the average American family is reduced by 40 percent, from $2,300 to $1,500. The population drops from 1,881,000 in 1930 to 1,801,000 in 1940. In 1930, 61 percent of the population is classified as rural. That number drops to 58 percent by 1940.

The year 1930 also marked the Fifteenth Decennial Census of the United States, which was released to the public in 2002 after 72 years. More than 137 million individuals were enumerated in the nation, 1,851,024 within Kansas' 105 counties. The 1930 census contains information about individuals such as name, address, age, sex, race, marital status, age at first marriage, and relationship to the head of the family. Enumerators included education, place of birth, place of parents' birth, employment or occupation, and whether the home was owned or rented. They identified veterans and the war in which war they served. They also identified who owned a radio. The 1930 census offers a snapshot of Kansas people at a pivotal time in the state's history.