Do You Own or Rent?

Starting with the 1900 census, enumerators asked questions about the type of place a person was living in.  Like a lot of census questions, these varied a lot over the following decades.  The basic information asked each decade was:

• Do you own or rent your home, asked in 1900-1940
• Are you making payments, asked in 1900-1920
• Do you live on a farm in or in house (not on acreage), asked 1900-1950
• What is the value of your home or how much is you monthly rent, asked in 1930, 1940
• Do you own a radio, asked in 1930

Prosperous or not?

One of the primary things these questions can tell you is your ancestor’s level of prosperity.  Especially during the early 20^th century, home ownership was part of the American Dream.  These questions tried to determine how close Americans were to achieving that dream.

Question the Obvious-Always

One thing to look out for is if your ancestor seemed to be prospering, but was still renting, it is important to find out why.  I recently was researching a family that continued to rent in census after census.  After some further research, it became apparent this farmer was renting his home so he had more money to lease farmland.

The 1930 question about the radio seems a little weird, but again, I think it is tied to prosperity.  According to the PBS American Experience site, radio stations began to be sold to average families in the 1920s, along with the starting of many radio stations.  The question may have been another one to gauge how prosperous Americans were and whether the radio was a viable way for the government to spread information. 

Like many other census questions, the answer is not terribly revealing, but leads you to research other areas that will provide meaningful answers.  If all this research is not for you, then drop us a line!  Research is what we love!