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What Is The Census?
The United States Constitution mandates a census every ten years to determine how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Census Bureau, with oversight from Congress, is responsible for planning and conducting the census, and reporting the results.
Who Gets Counted
- Every person residing in the United States on Census Day, April 1, should be counted
- A person does not have to be a U.S. citizen to be counted
Where are People Counted
People are counted in their place of usual residence, that is, where they spend most of their time during the year. The census counts:
- People staying at campgrounds, fairs and carnivals, marinas, emergency shelters, soup kitchens, and mobile food vans
- People living on military installations and on military ships
- Military personnel and federal civilian government employees, and their dependents, who are stationed overseas
- People living in special places or group quarters, including university and college dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses, nursing homes and other long-term care nursing facilities, correctional institutions, juvenile institutions, group homes and halfway houses, religious facilities, and agriculture or other worker facilities.
What Are the Questions
Every question on the census form is either:
- Required by law in order to manage or evaluate federal programs, or
- Needed to meet federal case law requirements
In the 2010 census there will be only one census form, the short form, which asks six population questions and one housing question. The long form has been replaced by the American Community Survey, a continuous survey that reports data once a year.
Legal Requirements
- Participation in the census is required by law
- The Census Bureau is prohibited by law from sharing individual census records with others, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, housing authorities, police, and the military
More Information
For information about the Census, see: