Census 2010

The United States Census is held every ten years to gather basic information about the country's residents. The 2010 Census is a short form -- consisting of just ten questions about each U.S. residence, including: number of occupants; ownership/rental status; and the gender, race, and date of birth of each occupant. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a longer questionnaire that is used to gather and disseminate more detailed information on an annual basis. According to the Census Bureau, the 2010 Census will help communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year for things like:

• Public Transit
• Hospitals
• Job training centers
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
• Emergency services

In March 2010 the Brookings Institution released Counting for Dollars: The Role of the Decennial Census in the Distribution of Federal Funds (PDF) which provides allocation data for states, counties and metropolitan areas to illustrate how the Census is a crucial part of determining budgets throughout the United States.

Census 2010 Follow-Up from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

• 2010 Census: Data Collection Operations Were Generally Completed as Planned, but Long-standing Challenges Suggest Need for Fundamental Reforms (PDF)(1 MB)
  GAO recommends that the Census Director refine non-response follow-up (NRFU) and other field follow-up efforts by, among other things, emphasizing quality as much as speed during NRFU and by incorporating best practices in its IT acquisition-management policy. To help ensure reform efforts stay on track, the Bureau should develop an operational plan that integrates performance, budget, and other information. The Department of Commerce generally agreed with GAO's findings and recommendations. A podcast (with transcript) accompanies this report.
  
• 2010 Census: Key Efforts to Include Hard-to-Count Populations Went Generally as Planned; Improvements Could Make the Efforts More Effective for Next Census (PDF)(938 KB)
  GAO recommends that the Bureau take steps to improve the effectiveness of its outreach and enumeration activities aimed at HTC groups, including developing a predictive model to better allocate paid advertising funds, improving coordination between partnership and local census staff, revisiting Service-Based Enumeration staffing guidance, and ensuring Be Counted/Quality Assistance Center sites are more visible and optimally located. Commerce generally agreed with the overall findings and recommendations.
  
• 2010 Census: Follow-up Should Reduce Coverage Errors, but Effects on Demographic Groups Need to Be Determined (PDF)(781 KB)
  GAO recommends that the Secretary of Commerce direct the Bureau to assess (1) how well questions to help identify miscounted people on census forms helped reduce differences in the undercounts between demographic groups; (2) the degree to which telephone numbers led to completed contacts for households of various demographic characteristics; and (3) how trends in telecommunication usage and new technology may influence the effectiveness of Coverage Follow-up. The Secretary of Commerce concurred with our recommendations.

How will Census 2010 affect community transportation?

Census information is used by many government agencies when making policies and distributing funds. Population estimates derived from the census and the American Community Survey may influence the distinctions between "urban" and "rural" communities, as well as tribal designations. Additionally, local decision-making about services and infrastructure may rely on census results and ACS data. For example, age data from the census helps communities identify trends in local demographics when planning for youth and senior transportation. In 2008 the National Cooperative Highway Research Program released A Guidebook for Using American Community Survey Data for Transportation Planning, which explores incorporating the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) data into the transportation planning processes at national, state, metropolitan, and local levels.

In 2003, the U.S. DOT's Federal Highway Administration issued some guidance on how DOT applies the Census Bureau's designations of urbanized areas (UZA) and urban clusters (UC) based on the 2000 Census. While the US Department of Transportation has no direct role in the designation of these areas, they are critical to the administration of the surface transportation program. A March 2010 blog entry by the Washington Department of Transportation offers further details on how Census 2010 may affect transportation projects, representation in Congress, and access to federal funding.

As a result of updated census methodology in 2010, there will be new tribal subdivisions, specifically changes to tribal tracts and tribal subgroups, as designated in information products that will result from Census 2010 and the 2010 American Community Survey. One helpful resource on these topics is A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data: What Users of Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives Need to Know (PDF).

The Association for American State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)'s Standing Committee On Planning Census Data Work Group is currently working on the following:

• Identifying census data issues important to the transportation community;
• Providing a forum for sharing census data issues and opportunities with the Standing Committee and for communicating policy perspectives, positions, and concerns with the Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Transportation;
• Recommending actions that AASHTO and the Standing Committee can take to promote more effective use of census data for transportation decision making needs, including follow-up products to the CTPP;
• Evaluating and supporting strategies to address census data training and capacity building needs within the transportation community;
• Identifying additional census data related research needs;
• Operating a census list-serve.

Read the latest update from AASHTO's census group.

What resources are available for transit professionals to learn about the census?

The Census 2000 Transportation Planning Products (CTPP) are a set of special tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureau designed for transportation planners. CTPP contain tabulations by place of residence, place of work, and for flows between home and work. The data are available at various geographic levels including county, place (incorporated city or Census-Designated Place), census tract, and Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ). Profile sheets include data from both 1990 and 2000 for some basic characteristics such as household size, vehicle availability, means of transportation to work, and travel time to work. View AASHTO's Census 2010 Transportation Planning Products (CTPP) Program Overview (PDF).

How can I learn more?

• View the data archive of the National Historic Geographic Information System (NHGIS).
• Visit the website of the Transportation Research Board's Subcommittee on Census Data for Transportation Planning.
• View the Census 2010 "Take 10" Map, which shows the mail participation rates visually for the entire country.
• Take a look at All Things Census: Social and Demographic Trends from the Pew Research Center.
• Watch for updates to this page as new and relevant census information becomes available.
  

Site Map | Contact Us| Search | Home | Accessibility Statement | ©2010 NRC