United States census
decennial census mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution
The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a decennial census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. There have been 24 federal censuses since that time. The census includes territories of the United States. The United States Census Bureau is responsible for conducting the census.
The most recent national census took place in 2020; the next census is scheduled for 2030. Since 2013, the Census Bureau began discussions on using technology to aid data collection starting with the 2020 census. In 2020, every household received an invitation to complete the census over the Internet, by phone or by paper questionnaire. For years between the decennial censuses, the Census Bureau issues estimates made using surveys and statistical models, in particular, the Population Estimates Program and American Community Survey.
From 1940 to 2000, the census had a "long form" version, sent to only a subset of the households, with additional questions about socioeconomic and housing characteristics.
The public source identifies “United States census” as decennial census mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around United, States and census.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “United States census”, the useful work is to connect “decennial census mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1345528. The Library of Congress control number is sh85139920. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1790, 2020, 2030 and 2013.
Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
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Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “United States census” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.