LibGuides: Civic Literacy At The Milton Public Library: 2020 Census

The 2020 Census

The U.S. Constitution requires a count every 10 years of every person living in the United States.

Census results determine how the federal government allocates more than $800 billion each year for services that communities rely on. Census data also determine representation in Congress and the Electoral College, as well as in state and local governments.

If the census misses people, undercounted communities won't get fair funding for critical programs, and officials won't have the reliable information they need to make decisions.

Beginning in early 2020, the Census Bureau mailed every household in the US an invitation to respond to the census, including a new option to respond online.

--Information from the American Library Association at ala.org/census

The below information was retrieved from the United States Census Bureau.

2020 Census Data Products

Apportionment
Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states. At the conclusion of each decennial census, the results are used to calculate the number of seats to which each state is entitled. Each of the 50 states is entitled to a minimum of one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data
Public Law (P.L.) 94-171, enacted by Congress in December 1975, requires the Census Bureau to provide states the opportunity to identify the small area geography for which they need data in order to conduct legislative redistricting. The law also requires the U.S. Census Bureau to furnish tabulations of population to each state, including for those small areas the states have identified, within one year of Census day.
Demographic Profile
Provides an overview of demographic and housing characteristics for a specific geography in a single data table.
Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC)
Provides detailed data tables on: Age, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, household type, family type, relationship to householder, group quarters population, housing occupancy, and housing tenure.
Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A)
Provides detailed data tables on: Population counts and sex-by-age statistics for approximately 1,500 detailed racial and ethnic groups, such as German, Lebanese, Jamaican, Chinese, Native Hawaiian, and Mexican, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribes and villages like the Navajo Nation.
Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B (Detailed DHC-B)
Provides detailed data tables on: Household type (e.g., family or nonfamily) and tenure (e.g., whether the home is owned or rented) for approximately 1,500 detailed racial and ethnic groups, such as German, Lebanese, Jamaican, Chinese, Native Hawaiian, and Mexican, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribes and villages like the Navajo Nation.
Supplemental Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (S-DHC)
Provides tables that combine the characteristics of households and the people living in them. These tables supplement the data about households and people released in the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC).
118th Congressional District Summary File
Re-tabulates the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC) tables for selected summary levels related to the 118th Congressional and 2022 State Legislative Districts.
Privacy-Protected Microdata File (PPMF)
Provides the complete set of privacy-protected records used to create the 2020 Census Data Products.

WEBINAR: Why Census Data Should Matter to You

This Summit on “Census Bureau Data for Everyone” is a FREE Virtual Webinar. Learn about how your responses to Census Bureau surveys are used to create publicly available data products. Explore data tools on census.gov and discover how you can utilize those tools to help transform your communities.

Video: A Look Back at the 2020 Census

2020 Census Data Visualizations

The following data visualizations were created by the United States Census Bureau after analyzing the data from the 2020 Census Data Products. These are examples of the information that the U.S. Census can provide to individuals and organizations.