Help Using Census
Calculating Birth Year Based on Census Information
Census & Soundex Card Abbreviations
Clues in Census Records 1790-1840
Clues in Census Records 1850 - 1930
U.S. County Formation Maps (show counties by the census year -)
Finding Census Online
The Census at Family Search - Most all has been transcribed / some have the actual images but some send you to Fold3 or Ancestry for the digitized version. If you are served by the North Central Regional Library and have a library card you may use the census images at HeritageQuest. Go to the NCRL Research Page and enter through their HeritageQuest link
Be aware that many of their census are not indexed and you must use the BROWSE button to find the state, town, township and page of a census that has not been indexed. You can find this information at FamilySearch and if FamilySearch does not have the image take that index information to HeritageQuest and find the image.
Remember to start with the LATEST census in an ancestor's life and work backwards:
there is no 1890 census, except fragments that were not burned
before the 1850 census only heads of household are named and family members given by ages but not names