About Us
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What We Do
Our Mission
- To serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. Full Mission Statement »Our Authority
- The United States Census Bureau operates under Title 13 and Title 26, of the U.S. CodeOur Goal
- To provide the best mix of timeliness, relevancy, quality, and cost for the data we collect and services we provideCareers
- The Jobs@Census site provides prospective employees information on positions available at the Census Bureau.What Data We Collect & When
- Population & Housing Census - every 10 years
- Economic Census - every 5 years
- Census of Governments - every 5 years
- American Community Survey - annually
- Our many surveys -- both Demographic & Economic
- Economic Indicators - each indicator is released on a specific schedule, see the Economic Indicator Calendar
How Our Data are Used
- to determine the distribution of Congressional seats to states--
- mandated by the U.S. Constitution
- used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
- used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government
Find out about the 2010 Census Redistricting Data Program.
- to make decisions about what community services to provide
Changes in your community are crucial to many planning decisions, such as where to:
- provide services for the elderly
- where to build new roads and schools
- or where to locate job training centers
- to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year
Census data affects how funding is allocated to communities for:
- neighborhood improvements
- public health
- education
- transportation
- and much more
- to provide Age Search information for:
- Qualifying for Social Security and other retirement benefits
- Passport applications
- Proving relationship in settling estates
- Researching family history or a historical topic
- to determine the distribution of Congressional seats to states--
Other Activities
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This symbol indicates a link to a non-government web site. Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.