If you are looking to create your own custom tabulations using decennial census data, then the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files are just what you need. PUMS files show the full range of responses from the long-form questionnaires, for example, how one household or one household member answered questions on occupation, place of work, and so forth. The files contain records for a sample of all housing units, with information on the characteristics of each unit and/or each person in it. The user actually sees the responses made by a household — with certain modifications.

All identifying information is removed to ensure confidentiality. The records selected are a sample of those households that received the questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions on age, sex, tenure, income, education, language spoken at home, journey to work, occupation, condominium status, shelter costs, vehicles available, and other subjects.

The full range of population and housing information collected in Census 2000 is available in the PUMS: over 450 occupation categories, age by single years up to 89, and so forth.