Why is the Census important?

Gordon De Jong, professor of sociology and demography and senior scientist in Penn State's Population Research Institute explains in this Research|Penn State article: http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/census.html

To learn more about using Census data for your research, visit the Social Science Library's Census of the United States research guide. Or, do some exploring using the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder website to discover more about your state or town. Here you'll find general, social, economic, and housing characteristics, such as:

• population
• race
• age
• educational attainment
• marital status
• ancestry
• median income
• families living below the poverty line
• median value of homes in your area
• most popular type of heating fuel

The 2010 U.S. Census is being conducted right now! All students, including international students, should complete and return the census form you receive in the mail or in person.