When county commissioners digest this supporting data, they often cannot argue with the clear evidence that a new senior citizen center is needed. As businesses try to determine if the market for a new product is large enough or if the product will be accessible to consumers, one source of vital statistics is the census. It shows, on a local, regional or national basis, how many men, women and children live in a specific area, breaking out the data by age and ethnic origin, sex and race, home owners versus renters. Census numbers help businesses reduce their financial risk and broaden their markets. Nonprofit organizations often use census numbers to estimate the number of potential volunteers in communities across the nation.
Developers analyze census data before deciding where to locate a new shopping mall.
In a June 1998 symposium in Houston, Texas, on Census 2000, President Clinton pointed out the importance of census data in creating a bipartisan majority for more funding of the WIC program. But the funds, once appropriated, can only flow where they're needed if there is an accurate count of where the kids are. So, ironically, no matter how much money we appropriate for WIC, unless we actually can track where the children are, the program will be less than fully successful. At the symposium, Dr. Judith Craven, president of the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast in Houston, spoke about how census data help determine where the most acute social service problems in the community are and where the money the United Way raises from private sources each year for health and human services will be distributed. It is not possible for us to do public health without it.