The Census: A Snapshot
The U.S. Constitution requires a national census once every 10 years.
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The census is a count of everyone residing in the United States: in all 50 states, Washington,
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D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and American Samoa. This includes people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, both
citizens and non-citizens.
The 2010 Census will create hundreds of thousands of temporary jobs across the nation.
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It’s in Our Hands: Your Participation in the 2010 Census Matters
Every year, more than $300 billion in federal funds is awarded to states and communities based
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on census data. That’s more than $3 trillion over a 10-year period.
Census data affect school budgets, specifically distribution of Title I and special education
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funding and college tuition grant and loan programs.
Community planners use census data to determine where to build new schools, provide public
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transportation and build new roads.
The Census in Schools program teaches students and their families about demography, civics
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and the value of being counted.
Census data affect your voice in Congress as well as the redistricting of state legislatures,
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county and city councils and voting districts.
Completing the 2010 Census Questionnaire: Simple and Safe
The 2010 Census questionnaire asks only a few simple questions of each person—name,
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relationship, gender, age and date of birth, race, and whether the respondent owns or rents his
or her home. This simple, short questionnaire takes just a few minutes to complete and return
by mail.
The Census Bureau does not release or share information that identifies individual respondents
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or their household for 72 years.
2010 CENSUS:
What Educators Need to Know about the 2010 Census
In 2010, the U.S. census will define who we are as a nation. Taken every 10 years, the census
affects political representation and directs the allocation of billions of dollars in government
funding. As 2010