U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke joined Acting Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank and Census Bureau Director Robert Groves at the National Press Club today to unveil the official 2010 Census population counts – 10 days before the statutory deadline of Dec. 31. The nationwide population as of April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538. Locke also announced a final 2010 Census savings of $1.87 billion.

“Without the help of the American people and the more than 257,000 partner organizations that worked with the U.S. Census Bureau to raise awareness and encourage participation, we would not have been able to achieve $1.87 billion in 2010 Census savings and a final mail response rate of 74 percent in a time of declining survey participation,” Locke said.  

The 2010 Census counts show how the U.S. population has grown and shifted over the last decade. More than $400 billion in federal funds are distributed every year to states and communities based in part on Census population data and American Community Survey (ACS) results. State and local governments use this data to plan new roads, new schools and new emergency services, and businesses use the data to develop new economic opportunities. | Full DOC release | Census Bureau release  | Noticias en español | More releases and data