United States Census Bureau
 |
Seal of the Bureau of the Census |
The
United States Census Bureau (officially
Bureau of the Census) is a part of the
United States Department of Commerce. It is the government department responsible for the
United States Census.
The
Constitution of the United States directs that the
population be enumerated at least once every ten years (through the
U.S. Census), and each state's number of
Federal Representatives in
Congress determined accordingly. The Census Bureau is in mandated with fulfilling these obligations: the collecting statistics about the nation, its people, and economy. The Census Bureau's legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the
United States Code.
Since
1903, the official census-taking organ of the United States government has been the Bureau of the Census. The Bureau is headed by a Director, assisted by a Deputy Director and an Executive Staff composed of the associate directors.
The Census Bureau headquarters is located at 4700 Silver Hill Road,
Suitland,
Maryland. There are regional offices in 12 cities:
Boston,
New York,
Philadelphia,
Detroit,
Chicago,
Kansas City,
Seattle,
Charlotte,
Atlanta,
Dallas,
Denver, and
Los Angeles. Additional temporary processing facilities are used to facilitate the decennial censuses.
The Census Bureau also runs the
Census Information Center cooperative program that involves 47 "national, regional, and local non-profit organizations." The CIC program aims to represent the interests of underserved communities. [
1]
The Census Bureau also mantains the
Population Clock; a realtime extrapolation of information on population, birth and death to give their approximation of the number of people in the United States and the World.
*
X-12-ARIMA* The original version of this article was adapted from
U.S. Census Bureau text.
*
Geographic Areas Reference Manual from the U.S. Census Bureau contains detailed explanations of geographic terms used in the census.
*
United States Census Bureau website*
U.S. and World Population Clocks - POPClocks*
Free ebook of Bureau of the Census at
Project Gutenberg
