Featured Online Resource - Census of Governments

Did you know that the Census Bureau has a special division devoted just to Government Statistics?

The Census of Governments is a voluntary survey sent to all types of governments in the United States.  This includes Federal, State, County, Municipal, local and other specialized governments such as school districts.

How can information from this Census be useful?  Some ways that the information is used include:

• Comparing similar levels of government (differences in their tax rates, spending, services, etc.)
• Observing changes in a government over time
• Finding statistics about governments as employers
• Much more!

The Census of Governments survey goes out every 5 years, in years ending in a 7 or 2.  The data from the 2012 Census is being made available gradually.  Smaller-scale surveys are also administered regularly.

Keep this service in mind if you are collecting statistics that are tied to governments.  You may be surprised with all that you can find.

* Image from: United States Census Bureau. "Collecting Data on Governments – Innovation at Work!" Research Matters. Census Bureau. Web. 18 Dec 2012.