Digital Historical Archive

NODIS and the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs have a large library of older Census and local data publications and we also know of other sources of historical Census data. Please contact us if you need help finding such data.

The Real Property Inventory of Metropolitan Cleveland
The Real Property Inventory of Metropolitan Cleveland (RPI) produced annual volumes of graphs, maps, data, and analysis of demographic, housing, economic, business, and social topics for Cleveland and the surrounding area from 1932 through 1978. Data were reported and mapped at the census tract level. The volumes are available at the Cleveland State University Library, the Cleveland Public Library, and NODIS. Learn more about RPI here.

Census Data and Maps
NODIS also houses a number of data books published by the Census Bureau for Ohio and the Cleveland metropolitan area from the decennial censuses of 1950 through 2000. In addition, the NODIS library has census block statistics maps from the 1970 and 1980 Census and 1990 Census block group maps for many of Ohio's metropolitan areas. Many if not all of these publications may also be available from the Cleveland Public Library, the CSU library and others in the region.

Population Characteristics by Census Tracts, Cleveland, Ohio, 1930
The NODIS library also includes book of 1930 census data published by the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1931. It was compiled by Howard Whipple Green, who would soon after establish the Real Property Inventory of Metropolitan Cleveland.

(We are looking for students and/or organizations that would be willing to work with us to bring these data into the digital age and make it available for download. If you are interested please contact NODIS.)

Some of the Data
As a pilot project we digitized a small sample of the data in this book and we present them below.

Scanned Data Tables from 1930 Plain Dealer Publication

1. Population by Color, Nativity, Sex and Age, For Census Tracts   
2. Foreign-Born White Population by Country of Birth and Sex, for Census Tracts
3. Native White Population of Foreign or Mixed Parentage, by Country of Birth of Parent and Sex, for Census Tracts
4. Population 21 Years of Age or Over by Color, Nativity, and Sex, for Census Tracts
5. Foreign-Born White Population 21 Years of Age or Over by Citizenship and Sex, for Census Tracts
6. Population 10 Years of Age or Over by Color, Nativity, and Illiteracy, for Census Tracts
7. Population 15 Years of Age and Over by Color, Nativity, Sex, and Marital Status, for Census Tracts
8. Gainful Workers 10 Years of Age and Over, by Industry Groups and Sex, for Census Tracts
9. Families by Color and Nativity of Head, and by Size, for Census Tracts
10. Homes by Tenure and Monthly Rental, for Census Tracts
11. Population by Color, Nativity, Sex and Age, For Census Tracts: 1920
12. Foreign-Born White Population by Country of Birth and Sex, for Census Tracts: 1920
13. Population by Color, Nativity, Sex and Age, For Census Tracts: 1910
14. Dwellings and Families by Type of Dwelling by Census Tracts
15. Number of Gainful Workers Unemployed and Number Per 100 Gainful Workers, Cleveland: April 1930 and January 1931
16. Dominant and Secondary Characteristics of the Heads of the Families in Each Census Tract
17. Number and Percentage of Gainful Workers Unemployed, Lakewood-Cleveland Heights-East Cleveland-Shaker Heights, April, 1930
18. Dominant and Secondary Characteristics of the Population of Each Census Tract
19. Families Having a Radio Set by Census Tract, Lakewood-Cleveland Heights-East Cleveland-Shaker Heights
20. Equivalent Monthly Rental Figure for each Census Tract
21. Miscellaneous City-Level Tables

Scanned Data Tables from 1950 Census Bureau Publication

Here is a link to the scanned tables from the 1950 census tract publication from the Census Bureau.

This Project was done by Colt Ossoff with the generous assistance of the Cleveland Digital Public Library.
 

Data Table Downloads

GIS Shapefiles

• 1930 Census Tracts Shapefile
• 1950 Census Tracts Shapefile

1930 Tables

• 1930 Table Header Legend
• Quasi-Family Groups
• Radios Per Family
• People Under 15 Years of Age - Census Tracts with most and least.
• Illituracy in the 10 plus Population - Census Tracts with most and least.
• Dwellings and Families by Census Tract
• Monthly Rent by Census Tract
• 1910 Population by Color and Nativity
• 1920 Population by Color and Nativity

1950 Tables

• 1950 Table Header Legend
• Dwellingss with TV's by Census Tract
• Characteristics of Non-White Dwellings by Census Tract in Cleveland