The Basic Facts
The Census is a count of every person residing in the United States. The
count includes people of all ages, races, and ethnic groups, citizens
and non-citizens. Article I of the Constitution requires a census of
everyone in the United States every ten years, and the next one occurs
in 2010. The Census form asks 10 simple questions and can be completed
in 10 minutes. Federal law protects the personal information you share
during the Census. The information collected is used to distribute
Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community
services to provide, and to distribute $400 billion in federal funds to
state and local governments each year.
Census Day is April 1, 2010.
The Census Bureau will mail census forms in mid-March 2010 to all households. The form will take only about 10 minutes to complete. Some areas will receive bilingual Census forms. Census takers will follow up with households that do not respond and assist them in completing their form.
Confidentiality & Security
Responses Are Confidential
By federal law (Title 13, United States Code), the information on
your Census form is completely confidential and cannot be disclosed for
72 years. The Census Bureau does not share an individual's information
with courts, the police, or any other government agency such as the
Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Homeland Security. Bureau
employees swear by Title 13 to protect confidentiality. If they fail to,
they can suffer harsh criminal penalties, including a prison sentence of
up to five years and a $250,000 fine. Every person with access is
subject to this law.
The Bureau uses all responses namelessly, for statistical purposes only.
Typically, it simply adds them up into large sums, such as the number of
people in a city.