The U.S. census is mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which states: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States... See more

In addition to its primary purpose of reapportioning the House of Representatives, census data are used for a wide variety of … See more

Censuses had been taken prior to the Constitution's ratification; in the early 17th century, a census was taken in Virginia, and people were counted in almost all of the British colonies … See more

The census records data specific to individual respondents are not available to the public until 72 years after a given census was taken, … See more

Decennial U.S. census figures are based on actual counts of persons dwelling in U.S. residential structures. They include citizens, non-citizen legal residents, non-citizen long-term … See more

The census has historically and up to the present been controversial due to its role in reapportioning political representation. In the 1850s, census planners suppressed information about … See more

One purpose of the census is to divide the house seats by population. Furthermore, as with any Census Bureau survey, the data provides a beginning for the allocation of … See more