CENSUS DATA

The United States Constitution mandates that a census be taken at least once every ten years, and that the number of members of the United States House of Representatives from each state be apportioned accordingly. Census statistics are also used for apportioning federal funding for many social and economic programs.

There are two forms of questionnaire used to collect information for the census, long and short. The long form questions about matters such as daily commute times, housing unit factors, etc. has been replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS). Computer algorithms (based on complex sampling rules) determined which form was mailed to a given household, with one in six receiving the long form. This was supplemented by census workers going door to door to talk to those who failed to return the forms. In addition to a simple count of residents, the Census Bureau collects a variety of statistics, on topics ranging from ethnicity to the presence of indoor plumbing. The data collected by every question is either required to enforce some federal law (such as the Voting Rights Act) or to administer some federal program. The United States Congress gives approval to every question asked on the census.

Population Characteristics:

General Census 2000 Stats:

Housing Characteristics:

Social Characteristics: