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Census Questionnaires

Congressional Apportionment

Large Data Sets

Special Reports and Updates

The Decennial Census (the Census of Population and Housing) is taken every 10 years to fulfil the Constitutional mandate that Congress maintain a headcount of every person residing in the United States for the purpose of determing Congressional representation.  The census is a count of everyone residing in the United States: in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.  All residents of the United States must be counted. This includes people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, citizens and non-citizens.

The Census has an important impact in many areas:

• Census affects funding in your community
  Census data directly affect how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and much more. That's more than $3 trillion over a 10-year period. Spending just a few minutes to fill out your census form will help ensure your community gets its fair share of federal and state funding.

• Census affects your voice in Congress
  Mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the census is also used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to redistrict state legislatures. More information about the 2010 Census Redistricting Data Program. . .

• Census affects your representation in state and local government
  Census data are used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government.

• Census informs your community's decisions
  The census is like a snapshot that helps define who we are as a nation. Data about changes in your community are crucial to many planning decisions, such as where to provide services for the elderly, where to build new roads and schools, or where to locate job training centers.

(Taken from the About the Census 2010 Homepage)

Census Questionnaires

Two questionnaires were used in conducting the Census of Population and Housing in 2000. A short form with population and housing items was sent to each household in the United States. The long form with additional questions was sent to 17% of all housing units.

Short Form Questionnaire (Corresponds to Census Summary Files 1 and 2)

Long form questionnaire (Corresponds to Census Summary Files 3 and 4)

Summary Files

Summary Files are detailed tables that can be used to collect information across fields from the long or short forms.  Summary Files 1 and 2 use data exclusively from the short form.  As such, these files will only be able to cross-tabulate data corresponding to the responses to the following fields:

• Questions on the short form
  • Name
  • Household relationship
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Hispanic or Latino origin
  • Age
  • Tenure (whether home is owned or rented)

• Summary File 1
• Counts and basic cross tabulations of information collected from all people and housing units. It includes counts for many detailed race and Hispanic or Latino categories.

• Summary File 2
• 100-percent population and housing characteristics, but the tables in this file are repeated for 250 population groups: total population, 132 race groups, 39 Hispanic or Latino groups, and 78 American Indian and Alaska Native tribe categories.

Summary Files 3 and 4 use data from the long form. 

• Questions on the long form
  • Population
    • Ancestry
    • Disability
    • Grandparents as caregivers
    • Income in 1999
    • Labor force status
    • Language spoken at home and ability to speak English
    • Marital status
    • Migration (residence in 1995)
    • Occupation, industry, and class of worker
    • Place of birth, citizenship, and year of entry
    • Place of work and journey to work
    • School enrollment and educational attainment
    • Veteran status
    • Work status in 1999
  • Housing
    • Farm residence
    • Heating fuel
    • Number of rooms and numberof bedrooms
    • Plumbing and kitchen facilities
    • Telephone service
    • Units in structure
    • Utilities, mortgage, taxes, insurance, and fuel costs
    • Value of home or monthly rent paid
    • Vehicles available
    • Year moved into residence
    • Year structure built

• Summary File 3
• In-depth population and housing data collected on a sample basis from the Census 2000 long form questionnaire, as well as the topics from the short form 100-percent data. It includes population totals for ancestry groups. It also includes selected characteristics for a limited number of race and Hispanic or Latino categories.

• Summary File 4
• Presents the same data as in Summary File 3, but is repeated for the total population and 335 additional population groups: 132 race groups, 78 American Indian and Alaska Native tribe categories, 39 Hispanic or Latino groups, and 86 ancestry groups.

Congressional Apportionment

The fundamental reason for conducting the decennial census of the United States is to apportion the members of the House of Representatives among the 50 states. A state's resident population consists of those persons "usually resident" in that state (where they live and sleep most of the time). A state's apportionment population is the sum of its resident population and a count of overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their dependents living with them) allocated to the state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.

Based on the Census 2000 apportionment, each member of the U.S. House of Representatives represents an average population of 646,952.

Tables, maps, and other information about the Census 2000 results can be found here.

Large Data Sets

1% and 5% Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)

State-level data containing individual records of the characteristics for sample of people and housing units.

The Missouri Census Data Center has converted all the 2000 5% PUMS files to SAS datasets which can be accessed from their web site.

Census files available for FTP

The best way to handle large data sets for manipulation with a statistical package such as SASS, SPSS, or STATA.
UCSB faculty, staff and students may also access data files via the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

Special Reports and Updates

• Census Briefs & Special Reports
  • Briefs provide an overview of the most important aspects of a topic; available for several race and ethnic groups, and other population and housing topics. Special Reports provide indepth analysis of population and housing topics.
• Current Population Reports
  • Topical reports based upon the Current Population Survey. The Current Population Reports can be used to update some Census figures between censuses.
  • A subject index is available.
• Current Population Survey
  • CPS is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Geographic Areas used by the Census Bureau
• Population Estimates
  • Population numbers between censuses.
• Rankings and Comparisons
• Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)
  • Data needed by states for their use in redrawing districts of the United States Congress and state legislatures.