J. Trent Alexander
Faculty Associate, PSC
Research Professor, ICPSR
- jtalex@umich.edu
- 734-647-7736
- 2116C ISR-Perry
- CV (PDF)
- Google Scholar Profile

BIO
J. Trent Alexander is a historical demographer who joined ICPSR in August 2017 from the US Census Bureau. He served as Assistant Chief of the Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications. At CARRA he led efforts to use administrative records to augment the Census data infrastructure through projects such as the Census Longitudinal Infrastructure Project, which is linking micro data across Decennial Censuses, major surveys, and administrative records. Prior to joining the Census Bureau, Trent was one of the leads on the IPUMS project at the Minnesota Population Center.
- Advancing the American Opportunity Study. (J. Trent Alexander) 2020-2024. Gates Foundation.
- Using the ACS to Introduce Demographic Approaches in Undergraduate Courses. (William H. Frey, Reynolds Farley, J. Trent Alexander, Victoria Bigelow, Barbara A. Anderson) 2020-2025. NICHD.
- American Opportunity Study. (J. Trent Alexander) 2020-2025. Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund (GSPF).
- Application Portal for Restricted Data in the Federal Statistical System. (J. Trent Alexander, Lynette F. Hoelter) 2019-2020. US Department of Commerce.
- An Infrastructure for Evidence-Based Policy. (J. Trent Alexander, Susan H. Leonard) 2019-2019. Hewlett Foundation.
- Feasibility Studies for Digitizing and Linking the 1960-1990 U.S. Censuses. (J. Trent Alexander) 2018-2019.
- Support the Identification, Monitoring, and Preservation of Government Data Resources. (J. Trent Alexander) 2017-2018. Casey Foundation.
- National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). (Mick P. Couper, William G. Axinn, James R. Wagner, J. Trent Alexander) 2010-2020. Centers for Disease Control.
- Leibbrand, Christine, Catherine Massey, J. Trent Alexander, and Stewart Tolnay. 2019. "Great Migration's great return? An examination of second-generation return migration to the South." Social Science Research 81: 117-131.
- Leibbrand, Christine, Catherine Massey, J. Trent Alexander, and Stewart Tolnay. 2019. "Neighborhood Attainment Outcomes for Children of the Great Migration." American Journal of Sociology 125(1): 141-183.
- Kum, Hye-Chung, Susan H. Leonard, Özgür Akgün, J. Trent Alexander, Luiza Antonie, Margaret C. Levenstein, and Amy O'Hara. 2018. "Establishing an International Data Linkage Repository Workgroup Toward a Benchmarking Repository." International Journal of Population Data Science 3(4).
- Massey, Catherine, Katie R. Genadek, J. Trent Alexander, Todd K. Gardner, and Amy O'Hara. 2018. "Linking the 1940 U.S. Census with modern data." Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History 51(4): 246-257.
- Alexander, J. Trent, Christine Leibbrand, Catherine Massey, and Stewart Tolnay. 2017. "Second-Generation Outcomes of the Great Migration." Demography 54(6): 2249-2271.
- Alexander, J. Trent, Robert Andersen, Peter W. Cookson, Kathryn Edin, Jonathan Fisher, David B. Grusky, Marybeth Mattingly, and Charles Varner. 2017. "A Qualitative Census of Rural and Urban Poverty." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 672(1): 143-161.