2010 California Census Data Now Available
Over the past few weeks the US Census Bureau has been releasing the results of its 2010 nationwide census data for each of our individual states.
I’ve have been watching some of the other state’s Census Data, and been eagerly waiting for California’s, and all of the changes in our population, demographics, etc., from a decade ago.
Somehow I was under the impression that people were moving out of California in droves, but that isn’t the case at all.
In fact, we’re still growing, albeit more slowly. And Los Angeles County’s is only 200,000 people away from breaking 10,000,000 people who reside in L.A. County!
Below is a map of california with some of the current Census data presented on it in visual form:
The Importance of the U.S. Census affects us and our nation in many ways:
The U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2 mandates that an apportionment of representatives among the states, for the House of Representatives, be carried out every ten years (decennially). Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives among the 50 states. Congress decides the method to carry out the apportionment and, since 1940, has used the method of ‘equal proportions’ in accordance with Title 2, US Code.
Using equal portions, each state is assigned one congressional seat (as provided by the Constitution). The apportionment formula then allocates the remaining 385 seats one at a time among the 50 states until all 435 seats are assigned.
In addition to apportionment, the decennial census results are used to:
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Distribute almost $200 billion annually in Federal and state, local, and tribal funds
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Draw state legislative districts
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Evaluate the success of programs or identify populations in need of services
If you’d like to know more about each of the various questions asked on the census form, here’s a great link.
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