2010 United States Census facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Twenty-third Census of the United States
U.S. Census Bureau Seal
General Information
Date Taken	April 1, 2010
Total U.S. Population	308,745,538
Percent Change	9.7%
Most Populous State	California 37,253,956
Least Populous State	Wyoming 563,626
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The Twenty-Third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or 2010 Census was a count of the population of the United States. It was done by the Census Bureau. It found that the population of the United States on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538. This was an increase of 9.7 percent over the 281,421,906 people counted during the 2000 Census. This was the twenty-third federal census.

The Census Bureau did not use a long form for the 2010 Census. The 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions.

Cost

The 2010 census cost $13 billion. It cost about $42 per capita. To compare, the 2010 census per-capita cost for China was about US$1; for India, the cost was US$0.40. Operational costs were $5.4 billion, under the $7 billion budget. In December 2010 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that the cost of doing the census has doubled each decade since 1970. In a detailed 2004 report to Congress, the GAO asked the Census Bureau to fix cost and design problems. They estimated the 2010 Census cost to be $11 billion.

In August 2010, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that the census operational costs were a lot less than what they thought it would be. Their budget was almost $7 billion, but they saved:

• $650 million was saved in the budget for the door-to-door questioning (NRFU) phase because 72% of households returned mailed questionnaires;
• $150 million was saved because of lower-than-planned costs in areas including Alaska and tribal lands; and
• the $800 million emergency fund was not needed.

Images for kids

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  A map showing the population change of each US State by percentage.

See also

In Spanish: Censo de los Estados Unidos de 2010 para niños