“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register,” Luke 2:1-3 (NIV).

From this Biblical passage in Luke, we see the census has been a tool to count people for many centuries. This year, 2010 is a census year, and I am sure you have been hearing about it in the media. I would like to take a chance to tell you a little history of the census and why it is important to you, your community and state.

The U.S. Census is a decennial census mandated by the U.S. Constitution and is performed by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. Census of 1790 was the first census conducted in the United States, under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. It was conducted on Aug. 2, 1790. It showed 3,929,326 people were living in the United States, of which 697,681 were slaves. The three largest cities were New York City, with 33,000 inhabitants; Philadelphia, with 28,000; and Boston, with 18,000.

The first state Census in Oklahoma was technically a census of Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory taken on July 1, 1907. It states that, from 1890 to 1900, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory had the largest percentage of population increase of any state or territory in the nation. Oklahoma Territory increased by 407.6 percent and Indian Territory by 117.6 percent.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 census. The census will count every person living in the United States. Beginning in March 2010, every Oklahoma household, not each person, will receive a 2010 census questionnaire. Completing your census questionnaire is easy, important and safe. This year’s form is one of the shortest census forms in history, composed of only 10 questions that take about 10 minutes to answer. You must answer all questions for your census form to be valid.

If you do not return your form by April 1, you will be visited by a local census worker. These are local people hired by the Census Bureau to make sure everyone in your community is counted. For those who might need a little extra income during these tough times, the Census Bureau is hiring between 3,500-5,000 workers in Oklahoma. The pay out of the Enid office starts at $10.75 per hour according to the census Web page.

 So why is the census so important? There are two main reasons. First, one of the fundamental reasons for the census is congressional apportionment. Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships or seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states. Our representation in Washington is critical. Oklahoma after the 1930 census had nine congressional seats. We dropped to six in 1950 and lost another congressional district after the 2000 census. Under current law, all congressional and legislative districts in Oklahoma are to be redrawn by the Oklahoma Legislature after every census.

The second reason is just as important and is tied to the first in many cases. In addition to redistricting, the census directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state, local and tribal governments. And possibly even more important, the census is critical in determining locations for new hospitals, funding emergency services, funding senior centers and services, improving schools, building new roads and bridges, expanding public transportation options and even the allocation of state dollars.

So it is vital for each person to fill out the census form, so an accurate count of the people in our community and in our state can be recorded. It also is important to note census data is kept strictly private and is not sent to the Internal Revenue Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service or any other government agency. Do your part and send in your form.

You can find more information about the 2010 Census by going to http://2010.census.gov/.

If you have questions or comments, you can contact me at stan.ralstin@okstate.edu.



Ralstin is Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service community development specialist.