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History
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Governments FAQs
When was the first census of governments?
The Census Act of 1839 [1.47MB PDF] provided for the collection of statistics pertaining to "the pursuits, industry, education, and resources of the country." As a result, the 1840 census was the first in which governments were asked about the numbers and kinds of schools and pupils.
The Census Bureau's National Processing Center in Jeffersonville, IN, (shown above in the 1990s) mails and processes
nearly all of the agency's censuses and surveys, including those collecting information
from federal, state, and local governments.
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