Census records are some of the most important resources for family history. They provide invaluable information about your ancestors that you won't find anywhere else, and can help you track how your family changed over time. The 1841 census was the first to include the names of each individual, making it the first useful census for family historians. People can request their own records (before they are publicly available) through the Census Bureau's age search service.
To get started with your research, visit the National Archives' 1930 federal population census website. You can also explore Vision of Britain to view reports based on information from censuses conducted up to 1971, or search for census data related to a city or district. If you have the full census reference, you can even locate an exact page. While most people now access the census online and not on microfilms, census references are still very useful.