Census 2020 by
The decennial Census is the US Government's largest statistical undertaking, and it costs billions of dollars in planning, execution, and analysis. From a statistical viewpoint, it is critical because it is the only database that maps every inhabitant into a geographic location. By constitutional mandate, census data are the basis for reapportioning the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The states use census data to redistrict their state legislatures and often to redraw boundaries for local elections. Census data inform the distribution of over $1.5 trillion in federal funding during the decade. This book details the fundamentals and significance of the 2020 Census for the non-specialist reader. It covers why the Census is the only statistical activity required by the US Constitution, the challenges of working towards an accurate and complete count, and what political ramifications flow from this process. Concise, timely, and comprehensible, this book provides helpful real-life examples while also offering an overview of the entwined statistical and political issues that surround the Census.
Encyclopedia of the U. S. Census by
Highlights changes in the US Census Bureau's data collection and dissemination practices for the 2010 enumeration, including the use of a short-form questionnaire for the actual population count, and the release in late 2010 of the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data set based on rolling samples of the US population.
Every ten years, since 1790, the federal government conducts a census to count the number of people living in the United States. The enumeration of the U.S. population is mandated by the U.S. Constitution, Article I, as a means to apportion the number of House of Representatives seats for each state. While apportionment is its original legal purpose, the decennial census also captures valuable statistics on population demographics and housing characteristics.
This link opens in a new windowWhile most Census data and publications are available online, some older publications have not been digitized. Print publications are available at the New Jersey State Library. Search our online catalog for Subject Keyword: "United States -- Census, Census Year". Example: United States -- Census, 1790.
The questions and vocabulary used as part of the decennial census have changed over time. The easiest way to determine whether statistics exists for a given topic and year is to look at the questions asked on the census at that time. Published guides can also help you better understand and navigate how the decennial census has changed over time.
In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau began conducting the American Community Survey (ACS) to collect detailed demographic and housing information that would no longer be asked as part of the 2010 Decennial Census. Unlike the decennial census, the ACS is conducted every year on a rolling basis. The ACS is sent to a random sample of approximately 292,000 addresses monthly, totaling about 3.5 million yearly. The U.S. Census Bureau then uses these samples to calculate estimates for the total population.
The annual nature of the ACS can provide more current data than the decennial census. However, because ACS estimates are calculated using a sample of the total population, they can be less precise than decennial census statistics.
The U.S. Census Bureau uses ACS samples to generate estimates for the total population. Currently, estimates using data from 1-year and 5-year intervals are published. From 2005-2013, 3-year interval estimates were also published. While not as current, 5-year estimates are more precise than 1-year estimates because they are calculated using a larger sample size. For more information about ACS estimates and when to use them, see the table at the link below:
This link opens in a new windowThe Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program (PEP) annually utilizes current data on births, deaths, and migration to calculate population change since the most recent decennial census and produce a time series of estimates of population, demographic components of change, and housing units. The annual time series of estimates begins with the most recent decennial census data and extends to the vintage year.
As each vintage of estimates includes all years since the most recent decennial census, the latest vintage of data available supersedes all previously-produced estimates for those dates.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, METHODOLOGY FOR THE UNITED STATES POPULATION ESTIMATES: VINTAGE 2023 (December 2023).
