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# History

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### Agency History FAQs

### Also in this Section:

                          - Has the census always been conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau?
                          - When did the U.S. Census Bureau become a permanent agency?
                          - Who was in charge during each census?
                          - How many census takers are needed to conduct the census?
                          - When did the U.S. Census Bureau move to Suitland, MD, and why?
                          - Has anyone famous ever worked at the U.S. Census Bureau?  

## Has the census always been conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau?

The Secretary of State oversaw the first censuses.  By the mid-19th century, temporary census offices supervised the census as part of the Department of the Interior.  In 1902, the Census Bureau became a permanent agency within the Department of Commerce and Labor.  In 1913, it became part of the Department of Commerce upon its separate establishment.

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