The 2010 Census
Operations & Outcomes

The Bureau of the Census Director's constitutional mandate to enumerate the US population every 10 years has been summarized with deceptive simplicity. This book discusses the major innovations that were planned for the 2010 census; problems encountered issues of census accuracy, coverage and fairness and the present status of census operations.

The Bureau of the Census Director's constitutional mandate to enumerate the U.S. population every 10 years has been summarized with deceptive simplicity: count each person whose usual residence is in the United States; count the person only once and count him or her at the right location. In reality, the attempt to find all U.S. residents and correctly enumerate them is increasingly complicated, expensive and it attracts congressional scrutiny. This book discusses the major innovations that were planned for the 2010 census; problems encountered issues of census accuracy, coverage and fairness and the present status of census operations.

Preface
The 2010 Decennial Census: Background &
Issues
Data Collection Operations Were Generally Completed as Planned, but Long-Standing Challenges Suggest Need for Fundamental Reforms
Key Efforts to Include Hard-to-Count Populations Went Generally as Planned
Improvements Could Make the Efforts More Effective for Next Census
Follow-Up Should Reduce Coverage Errors, but Effects on Demographic Groups Need to Be Determined
Cooperation with Enumerators is Critical to a Successful Headcount
Plans for Census Coverage Measurement are on Track, but Additional Steps Will Improve its Usefulness
Index.