About the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS)
The NLS, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, are nationally representative surveys that follow the same sample of individuals from specific birth cohorts over time. The surveys collect data on labor market activity, schooling, fertility, program participation, health, and much, much more. Choose a cohort below to learn more.
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Men and women born in the years 1980-84
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Men and women born in the years 1957-64
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Biological children of women in the NLSY79
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Mature women born in the years 1922-37 and young women born in the years 1943-53.
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Older men born in the years 1906-21 and young men born in the years 1941-52.
Who Are You?
Please indicate your NLS experience so we can direct you to a page that focuses on your needs:
Need Help Using NLS Data?
Explore the Tutorials
Learn how to approach research projects, search for and extract data, and then program with NLS data.
Introduction to the Investigator
Learn how to use the online NLS data search and extraction site to create your own data sets.
NLS Learning Opportunities: Booth Schedule at Conferences
Going to a professional conference soon? The NLS User Services booth makes an appearance at several conferences throughout the year. Stop by to get some hands-on instruction (or just to say hi).
Latest Information from the NLS
**Now Available: Video Tutorials for NLS Investigator. We've added four video tutorials to help you access and use our NLS datasets: "Introduction to the NLS Investigator," "Getting Started: Investigator Interface," "Variable Search," and "How to Import NLS Data into Statistical Software." View the videos at https://www.nlsinfo.org/access-data-investigator/investigator-user-guide/video-tutorials.
ASA 2018 Conference Includes 25+ NLS-Related Presentations. The Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, to be held August 11-14 in Philadelphia, will feature more than two dozen presentations using NLS data. Here's a handy list of the NLS-related research scheduled for the event.
Most Recent Data Release [September 2017]: NLSY97 1997-2015 Dataset. The NLSY97 follows the lives of a sample of Americans born between 1980-1984. The new release contains 17 rounds of data and is available to the public through NLS Investigator (www.nlsinfo.org/investigator).
We've added two new NLS brochures: Using the NLS to Study Employment and Using the NLS to Study Income & Assets.
NLS Brochures and Data Briefs available as PDFs. Need some quick info about the NLS to hand out in your classroom or give to a colleague? Click here for access to PDFs of our brochures and data briefs. The NLS brochures cover a variety of topics for all cohorts, while the data briefs are more specific to the NLSY79 Child & Young Adult datasets.
Check out our Website Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the NLS. Fun facts, user profiles, NLS language lessons, and more!! Check us out at https://nlsat50.org/.
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Visit NLS Investigator to explore and download data.