Why you have to wait 72 years for census records to be released : NPR
NPR
It's a rule that many genealogists plan their lives around.
Once a decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tries to gather the names, home addresses and other details of every person living in the country for a head count.
And 72 years after a national tally's Census Day, records with all of that information are shared with the public, including family historians eager to flesh out their genealogy charts.