History

Governments

South Carolina's State House

The U.S. Census Bureau began collecting data from governments during the 1840 census, when U.S. marshals gathered information about schools and school attendance. Since that time, governments' data collection has expanded to include a quinquennial census and numerous surveys.

Data provided by state, county, and local governments (including school districts), in combination with data collected by the economic census and surveys, offer a full picture of the national economy's health.

For a general overview of the Census Bureau's collection of data about governments see Factfinder for the Nation: Statistics on Governments [PDF 1.05MB].

To download Governments publications, click here.