Census 2010

Be Counted!

The census is a count of everyone living in the United States – people of all races and ethnic groups, both citizens and non-citizens. The U. S. Constitution requires a national census be conducted once every ten years.

College students who live away from home are counted at their on-campus or off campus address. U. S. Military personnel are counted even if they live out of the country. The homeless are counted where they are located on April 1st. People living in group quarters, such as jails, group homes, or shelters on April 1st are counted at the address of the facility.

Important and informative links

to more census information

2010.census.gov

2010.census.gov/espanol

How will you be counted?

The Census Form

10 Questions - 10 Minutes – 10 Years

The 2010 Census questionnaire form is one of the shortest ever! There are 10 easy questions about the head of the household and seven questions for each additional person living in the home on April 1, 2010. There are no questions about income, education, citizenship, or employment. The form takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Privacy Protected

Answers to the Census questionnaire are safe, protected by law and strictly confidential. It is illegal for the Census Bureau to share personal information with any other government agency. Information about individual responses cannot be shared with the IRS, Immigration, Police, Welfare, Homeland Security, or anyone else. Individual answers remain confidential for 72 years.

A Census Bureau employee who discloses any confidential census information, whether during or after employment, is committing a crime! The penalty for wrongful disclosure is up to five years imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.

Click on the form for detailed information

on the form and it's questions.

It’s Important!

Census data determine how many seats each state will have in the U. S. House of Representatives. There are 435 seats in the House that are divided among the 50 states. Every year the federal government allocates more than $300 billion to states and communities based, in part, on census data.

Census data helps forecast future transportation needs.
Census data determines areas eligible for housing assistance and other grant projects (parks, sidewalks, public facilities).
Census data guide local decision-makers on where to build new public facilities such as schools, roads, and hospitals.
Businesses use census data to local new supermarkets, housing, and other facilities.

Important Census Dates

March 2010 – Census forms are delivered either by mail or in person from a census worker. Households should complete and return their forms when they are received based on who will live in the home on April 1st.

April 1, 2010 – This is Census Day! The forms are answered based on who lives in each home on this date.

April – July 2010 – Addresses that have not responded are visited in person by a census worker beginning in late April through July. Census workers will have a photo ID badge with a Department of Commerce watermark.

December 31, 2010 – The Census Bureau will provide the 2010 apportionment count to the President by this date. This count includes the total population counts and the number of representatives for each state.