Nationwide, five out of six housing units will receive this short form. The longer form will ask about the same seven subjects plus 27 more, including education, ancestry, employment, disability and house heating fuel. One out of six housing units will receive a long form nationwide. State and local governments use Census information for planning and allocating funds for new school construction, public buildings such as libraries, highway safety and public transportation systems, new roads and bridges and many other projects. Community organizations use Census information for developing social service programs, community action projects, senior lunch programs and child-care centers.
Businesses use the numbers to decide where to locate businesses - leading to the creation of jobs.
The U.S. Congress uses the Census totals to determine how many seats California will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. Likewise, California uses the numbers to allocate seats in the State Legislature. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share your answers with others, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and military.