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National Longitudinal Surveys
Bureau of Labor Statistics > National Longitudinal Surveys > About > Cohorts

NLS Cohorts (Active)

  • National Longitudinal Survey of Youth | 1997 (NLSY97)

    The NLSY97 Cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1980-84; 8,984 respondents were ages 12-17 when first interviewed in 1997. Data are now available from Round 1 (1997-98) to Round 19 (2019-20).  This cohort is ongoing.

  • National Longitudinal Survey of Youth | 1979 (NLSY79)

    The NLSY79 Cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1957-64. The cohort originally included 12,686 respondents ages 14-22 when first interviewed in 1979; after two subsamples were dropped, 9,964 respondents remain in the eligible samples. Data are now available from Round 1 (1979-80) to Round 29 (2020-21).  This cohort is ongoing.

  • National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child and Young Adult (NLSCYA)

    The NLSY79 Child and Young Adult cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the biological children of the women in the NLSY79. Assessment of children began in 1986 and separate young adult interviews started in 1994. Data are now available from 1986 to 2020. This cohort will not be collected in round 30 (2022). Future collection has not been established.

NLS Original Cohorts (Discontinued)

  • National Longitudinal Survey of Mature and Young Women (NLSW)

    The National Longitudinal Survey of Mature and Young Women, a two-cohort survey, is part of the NLS Original Cohort project. The Mature Women's cohort includes 5,083 women who were ages 30-44 when first interviewed in 1967, while the Young Women's cohort includes 5,159 women who were ages 14-24 when first interviewed in 1968. Data for both cohorts are available through 2003, when active surveying was discontinued.

  • National Longitudinal Survey of Older and Young Men (NLSM)

    The National Longitudinal Survey of Older and Young Men, a two-cohort survey, is part of the NLS Original Cohort project. The Older Men's cohort includes 5,020 men ages 45-59 in 1966, with data available through the 1990 survey year, the final year the Older Men were interviewed. The Young Men's cohort includes 5,225 men who were ages 14-24 when first interviewed in 1966, with data available through 1981, when active surveying was discontinued.
Table 1. The NLS: Cohorts, Sample Sizes, Interview Years Status
Cohort Age Cohort Birth Year Cohort Initial Sample Size Initial/Latest Survey Year # of Surveys to Date Survey Status

NLSY97

 12-16 (as of 12/31/96) 1980-84 8984 1997/2021 20 Continuing

NLSY79

 14-21 (as of 12/31/78) 1957-1964 12686 1979/2022 30 Continuing

NLSY79 Children(1)

 Birth-14 (2) 1986/2016 16 Ended

NLSY79 Young Adults(1)

 15 & older (2) 1994/2020 14 Continuing

Young Women

 14-24 (as of 12/31/67) 1943-53 5159 1968/2003 22 Ended

Mature Women

 30-44 (as of 3/31/67) 4/1/22-3/31/37 5083 1967/2003 21 Ended

Young Men

 14-24 (as of 3/31/66) 4/1/41-3/31/52 5225 1966/1981 12 Ended

Older Men

 45-59 (as of 3/31/66) 4/1/06-3/31/21 5020 1966/1990 13(3) Ended

Footnotes:
(1) NLSY79 Young Adult respondents were initially interviewed as part of the NLSY79 Children sample. Beginning in 1994, those age 15 and older were surveyed separately. In 1998 only, young adults age 21 and older were not interviewed. Starting in 2016, ages 12 and up were included in the Young Adult sample.
(2) The sizes of the NLSY79 Children and Young Adult samples are dependent on the number of children born to NLSY79 respondents. Since this number increased across rounds, original sample sizes are omitted. As of 2020, more than 10,000 children have been interviewed in at least one survey round.
(3) Twelve interviews occurred from 1966-83. The 1990 interview surveyed living respondents and next-of-kin of deceased respondents.

 

Last Modified Date: August 8, 2023