Skip to main content
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79)

Index to the NLSY79 Cohort

This repository is under review for potential modification in compliance with Administration directives.

The NLSY79 Cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1957-1964. 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 survey year) to Round 30 (2022 survey year).

  • Topical Guide to the Data

    Topic-by-topic descriptions of the NLS Youth 1979 data, a crosswalk between the NLS Investigator’s Areas of Interest, and a glossary of terms.
  • Asterisk Tables

    Table of NLS Youth 1979 topics across all survey rounds often referred to as the "Asterisk Table."
  • Introduction to the Sample

    Description of the sample, the sample design and screening process, interview methods, retention and reason for non-interview, and confidentiality.
  • Other Documentation

    Tutorials, NLS Youth 1979 Codebook Supplement, Geocode Supplement, Technical Sampling Report, List of Errata, and questionnaires for all rounds.
  • Using and Understanding the Data

    Information on survey instruments, variables types, the interviewing process, item nonresponse, sample weights and design effects, data documentation, and how to access the data.
  • Get Data

    The NLS Investigator provides access to all public NLS data, including NLS Youth 1979 data.