The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States.
The Census Bureau's primary mission is conducting the U.S. census every ten years, which allocates the seats of the U.S. House of Representatives to the states based on their population. The bureau's various censuses and surveys help allocate over 675billioninfederalfundseveryyearanditassistsstates,localcommunities,andbusinessesmakeinformeddecisions.Theinformationprovidedbythecensusinformsdecisionsonwheretobuildandmaintainschools,hospitals,transportationinfrastructure,andpoliceandfiredepartments.Inadditiontothedecennialcensus,theCensusBureaucontinuallyconductsover130surveysandprogramsayear,includingtheAmericanCommunitySurvey,theU.S.EconomicCensus,andtheCurrentPopulationSurvey.Furthermore,economicandforeigntradeindicatorsreleasedbythefederalgovernmenttypicallycontaindataproducedbytheCensusBureau.==Legalmandate==ArticleOneoftheUnitedStatesConstitution(sectionII)directsthepopulationbeenumeratedatleastonceeverytenyearsandtheresultingcountsusedtosetthenumberofmembersfromeachstateintheHouseofRepresentativesand,byextension,intheElectoralCollege.TheCensusBureaunowconductsafullpopulationcounteverytenyearsinyearsendingwithazeroandusestheterm"decennial"todescribetheoperation.Betweencensuses,theCensusBureaumakespopulationestimatesandprojections.Inaddition,Censusdatadirectlyaffectshowmorethan400 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and more.