The purpose of this guide is to help you successfully navigate your way through the 2000 Census. This guide contains a brief introduction to the Census, important trends that the Census reveals, critical thinking exercises, test questions and a number of demographic graphs. The U.S. Census is one of the largest data sets available to the general public. In the coming months you will hear and read about what we have learned about ourselves in the 2000 Census. Using this guide, you will be more prepared to understand and to discover for yourself the many ways in which the American demographic landscape is changing.

• Why do we conduct a census?

The U.S. Constitution calls for a census of the population every ten years. The chief reason for conducting a census is to determine how many members of the U.S. House of Representatives each state is allowed. The first census was conducted in 1790 and showed that America had a population of over three million.

• How else are census numbers used?

Community leaders use the census for planning schools, building roads, and managing health-care services. Census numbers help businesses to see developing trends among consumers. Religious organizations use the census to plan the allocation of resources. When hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1991, the Census Bureau was able to help in the rescue effort by providing estimates of the total number of people in each block. The Census is a valuable tool used by a variety of leaders, groups and organizations to see the big picture.

• What makes the census different from other surveys?

The U.S. Census isn’t really a survey; it is an actual count of each person in America. Since 1940, in addition to the complete count information, some data have been obtained from representative samples of the population. The 2000 Census contains information obtained from actual counts and from representative samples. For the 2000 Census, great debate occurred over whether or not to introduce sampling procedures to even more aspects of the census count.

• How big was the 2000 Census?

There were more than three million temporary job applicants recruited to conduct the 2000 Census. Census workers used more than 20 million maps and covered eight to nine million blocks while collecting data from approximately 118 million housing units. During a peak two-week period in 2000, 40-70 million questionnaires were returned.

• What did the 2000 Census look like?

The 2000 Census was distributed in two forms. The short form asked seven questions; name, sex, age, relationship, Hispanic origin, race, and housing tenure. About 83% of households received the short form. The long form went out to one out of every six households. It covered 34 subject areas including education, employment and disability.

• Who else has access to census data?

By law, information obtained from individual census records cannot be shared with any other government agency. This includes welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military. Census workers are sworn to secrecy.