Is it possible to access population counts by age and race by county in the 1980 census? I’m hoping for age groups defined by 5 year intervals with a couple exceptions: 0, 1 - 4, 5 - 9, 10 - 14…70-74, 75+? I found data on NHGIS but it only had broader age intervals (<5, 5-17, 18-65, 65+). Thanks!
Yes, in NHGIS’s 1980_cASRS dataset, Table NT002 (Age) provides counts by 1-year age intervals up to age 75. The dataset also has a Race/Ethnicity breakdown, meaning that for each of its tables, you can request the table separately for any of 21 different Race/Ethnicity categories (or you can get them all in one request).
To find the table, select the 1980_cASRS dataset through NHGIS’s Datasets filter.
If you are also using NHGIS’s Topics filter, make sure to use the “Breakdown Filter” for Race and not the “Table Topic Filter”. If you select the latter, then 1980_cASRS’s tables will not appear because none of them include Race categories _within_ the table. Race categories in this dataset are available only through breakdowns.
For more info on the concept of “breakdowns”, see NHGIS’s FAQ here.
Note that NHGIS’s 1980_STF2b dataset also includes an Age table that uses 1-year categories up to age 100, and that dataset also has a Race/Ethnicity breakdown. However, 1980_STF2b supplies breakdown counts only for counties where the total population of the corresponding race/ethnicity group exceeds a threshold, so it does not provide counts for all races for all counties.