The Decennial Census, conducted every ten years as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, provides a full count of the U.S. population and housing. This data influences key decisions, such as:
Apportionment of representatives in Congress.
Allocation of funding across federal, state, and local programs.
Updates to legislative districts.
Key Insight: The Census occurs in years ending in “0” (e.g., 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020), with data released incrementally over the following decade.
Decennial Census 2020 Data Releases
The U.S. Census Bureau releases the 2020 Census data in stages to support various applications, including redistricting. A subset of the redistricting data, released in August 2021 are available for analysis in mySidewalk.
Apportionment and Redistricting
The Census data plays a critical role in determining Congressional representation. Here’s what happens:
Apportionment: Determines the number of representatives each state sends to Congress.
Redistricting: States redraw Congressional, state legislative, and city council district boundaries using the Census data.
Implications for mySidewalk Users
The first Census data released is widely covered due to its impact on federal representation.
mySidewalk currently aligns its geographies with the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.