Public Law 94-171, enacted in 1975, directs the Census Bureau to make special preparations to provide redistricting data needed by the 50 states.
It specifies that within a year following Census Day, the Census Bureau must send the governor and legislative leadership in each state the data they need to redraw districts for the United States Congress and state legislature.
To meet this legal requirement, the Census Bureau set up a program that affords state officials an opportunity before each decennial census to define the small areas for which they wish to receive census population totals for redistricting purposes. Officials may receive data for voting districts (e.g., election precincts, wards) and state house and senate districts, in addition to standard census geographic areas such as counties, cities, census tracts, and tabulation blocks. State participation in defining areas is voluntary and nonpartisan.
Summary File 2 Dataset
Summary File 2 (SF 2) contains the 100-percent data (the information compiled from the questions asked of all people and about every housing unit).
Ranking Tables for Population of Metropolitan Areas: 1990 and 2000
Source: Census 2000 and 1990 Census
Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin by Age and Sex for the U.S.: 2000
Source: Census 2000 Summary File 1