We ask a question about a person's race to create statistics about race and to present other estimates by race groups.
Local, state, tribal, and federal programs use these data, and they are critical factors in the basic research behind numerous policies, particularly for civil rights. Race data are used in planning and funding government programs that provide funds or services for specific groups.
These data are also used to evaluate government programs and policies to ensure that they fairly and equitably serve the needs of all racial groups and to monitor compliance with antidiscrimination laws, regulations, and policies.
The U.S. Census Bureau collects racial data in accordance with the 1997 Office of Management and Budget standards on race and ethnicity. The data on race are based on self-identification and the categories on the form generally reflect a social definition of race. The categories are not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. Respondents can mark more than one race on the form to indicate their racial mixture.
We use your confidential survey answers to create statistics like those in the results below and in the full tables that contain all the data—no one is able to figure out your survey answers from the statistics we produce. The Census Bureau is legally bound to strict confidentiality requirements. Individual records are not shared with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcement entities. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone—not the IRS, not the FBI, not the CIA, and not with any other government agency.
We ask one question about a person's race to better understand demographic characteristics.
We compile the results from this question to provide communities with important statistics about race and to present other estimates by race group. You can see some of these published statistics here for the nation, states, and your community.
We ask about the race of community members in combination with information about housing, voting, language, employment, and education, to help governments and communities enforce antidiscrimination laws, regulations, and policies. For example, race data are used to:
Researchers, advocacy groups, and policymakers are interested in knowing if people of different races have the same opportunities in education, employment, voting, and home ownership.
Communities, including tribal governments, ensure that programs are operating as intended by knowing how many people are eligible to participate in certain programs. For example, the Indian Housing Block Grant program, Indian Community Development Block Grant program, and Indian Health Service all depend on accurate estimates of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Data for this population come from the questions about a person's race.
The question about a person's race originated with the 1790 Census. It was added to the ACS in 2005 when it replaced the decennial census long form.