A census is a study of every unit, everyone, or everything in a population. It is a complete enumeration. (Definition from Australian Bureau of Statistics).

Statistics is the science of collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data (Brittanica.com).

Below are resources for accessing data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census publishes thousands of volumes of statistics on population, housing, business, and agriculture. Census data is available online at Data.Census.gov. UNT's Government Information Connection has historic Census data in paper and/or on CD-ROM. 

The U.S Census Bureau has a number of data collection programs. These include:

• Decennial Census: The U.S. census counts each resident of the country, where they live on April 1, every ten years ending in zero. The Constitution mandates the enumeration to determine how to apportion the House of Representatives among the states.
• American Community Survey: an annual survey that helps local officials, community leaders, and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities.  
• Economic Census: the U.S. federal government's official five-year measure of U.S. business and the economy. 
• Experimental Data Products: experimental data products created using new data sources or methodologies that benefit data users in the absence of other relevant products. examples include the Household Pulse and Small Business Pulse Surveys which aimed to show the impact of the pandemic on U.S. families and businesses.

Data for the various programs are available through the U.S. Census Bureau’s Data.Census.gov, which includes a number of interactive tools You can generate your own custom tables on many different topics for many types of geographic areas,  including the United States, counties, cities and towns, congressional districts, American Indian reservations, and census tracts and blocks.

The Census Bureau also works with other Federal Statistical Agencies on other data products which are released regularly. 

State Data Centers make data produced by the Census Bureau available locally to the public through a network of state agencies, universities, libraries, and regional and local governments. 

Federal Statistical Research Data Centers are partnerships between federal statistical agencies and leading research institutions. FSRDCs provide secure environments supporting qualified researchers using restricted-access data while protecting respondent confidentiality. The University of North Texas is a partner institution that supports the Dallas-Fort Worth Research Data Center, which is located at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Census Geography

Geography is central to the Census Bureau's programs as it provides meaning and context to the data. The Census Bureau offers Guidance for Geography Users which among other things defines the hierarchy of geography used by the Census Bureau. 

Places can be identified with the U.S. Gazetteer. For users of GIS, the Census Bureau offers shapefiles and other geodatabase products through the TIGER Products page.

See the Geography tab for more information.

Privacy and the Census

Keep in mind that because privacy is a very important concern of the Census Bureau, you won't find information on specific persons or companies (except in the older census publications mentioned below).

History of the Decennial Census

Census surveys and questionnaires have changed over time and evolved to reflect modern times. U.S. Census Bureau History follows the evolution of the decennial census from 1790 forward. See the Genealogy tab for additional historical Census data.