NLSY | Quantitative Methodology Center

Longitudinal study that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1957-64
- Oversampling occurred for youth in the military, Hispanic youth, and economically disadvantaged non-Hispanic and non-Black youth
Data collection began with a nationally representative sample in 1979 when survey respondents were ages 14 to 22
- Interviews were conducted annually from 1979 to 1994 and on a biennial basis thereafter
- Oversampling discontinued for military youth in 1984; economically disadvantaged non-Hispanic and non-Black youth in 1990
- Waves of data collection

Data was collected from the respondents to chronicle change in the life-course experiences of men and women living in the United States. Since the start of the study, the participants in this cohorts typically have finished their schooling, moved out of their childhood homes, made decisions on continuing education and training, entered the labor market, served in the military, married, started families of their own, and thought about their retirement expectations. Data collected include:
- Family background and demographic variables, including socioeconomic data
- Educational and training histories, including cognitive tests from respondents’ earlier years
- Employment and work experiences, including military service and any gaps in employment
- Attitudes and expectations data, including various non-cognitive tests
- Social and health survey data, including marital status, sexual activity, crime and substance use
Click here for more information about the NLSY79 sample.
Click here for more information about major subject areas and variables the NLSY79 survey.
Click here for a description of the NLSY79 codebook.

Longitudinal study that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1980-84
- Oversampling occurred for Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black youth
Data collection began with a nationally representative sample in 1997 when survey respondents were ages 12 to 16
- Interviews were conducted annually from 1997 to 2011 and on a biennial basis thereafter
- Waves of data collection

Data was collected from the respondents to chronicle change in the life-course experiences of men and women living in the United States. In addition to including questions from the NLSY79 survey, data from the NLSY97 further aids in determining how youths’ experiences relate to establishing careers, participating in government programs, and forming families. Data collected include:
- Youths’ family and community backgrounds
- Respondents’ labor market behavior and educational experiences
Click here for more information about the NLSY97 sample.
Click here for more information about major subject areas and variables the NLSY97 survey.
Click here for a description of the NLSY97 codebook.

The cross-cohort data set connects NLSY79 and 97 data, allowing the opportunity to perform cross-cohort comparisons
The data set includes variables such as:
- Interview date and reason for non-interview
- Age, sex, race, and Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) percentile score
- Marital status, highest grade attended, highest grade completed, and employment status
Click here to see the Cross Cohort Harmonization Overview document

Both NLSY79 and NLSY97 data are available in two forms, public-use and restricted-use.

NLSY79 public-use data sets are currently available from from Round 1 (1979 survey year) to Round 28 (2018 survey year).
NLSY97 public-use data sets are currently available from from Round 1 (1997-98) through Round 18 (2017-18).
All NLS public-use data are available online through the NLS Investigator.
- Click here to access NLSY79 public-use data.
- Click here to access NLSY97 public-use data.
- Click here to access the NLS Cross-Cohort Beta public-use data.

NLS offers restricted-use data containing
- NLSY97/97 Geocode Data
- NLSY97/97 Use Zip Code and Census Tract Data
- NLSY97/97 Use School Survey Data
Information about accessing these datasets is available on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Restricted Data Access website.