History

Demographic

Enumeration at a Chinese-owned Laundry
during the 1960 census. Over the decades, the reach of the census spread to new states and areas under U.S. sovereignty or jurisdiction. Census officials, even when they led temporary offices, have constantly sought to increase both the amount and the diversity of information they have collected about the people of the United States. From mortality to home ownership, these statistics have given Americans a better idea of the demographic profile of the United States.

When the Census Bureau became a permanent agency in 1902, it was able to expand its mission by taking on new mid-decade surveys, such as the Current Population Survey, and special censuses, such as 1937’s unemployment census. During the twentieth century, the Census Bureau became the chief statistical agency of the United States government, surveying on behalf of other federal agencies as well as itself. Today, in addition to administering the census of population and housing, the Census Bureau conducts more than 200 annual surveys.