Pre-1850 United States census records, which frequently only list a county of residence, can be a challenge when the names are spelled wrong and the writing is difficult to read. If you can’t find you person in 1830, try searching for his 1820 and 1830 neighbors in 1840 and then looking closely in the vicinity of that name (at least a few pages befor and after). You may find the person of interest. 
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Would there be a way to sharpend the image without damaging the document?
Your tip was fresh on my mind as I was trying to figure out why I could not find an entire Jones family in the 1940 census, so I used a 1930 neighbor and found they been indexed as James. Thanks for the suggestion.