According to the US Census Bureau, the nonpartisan government agency charged with conducting the US Census every 10 years:

*The first US Census was conducted in 1790.

*The first Census counted 13 states, plus the districts of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont, and the Southwest Territory (now Tennessee).

*US Marshals conducted the first Census, on horseback.

*Participating in the census is required by law, for those who recently completed another survey from the Census Bureau.

*The 2020 Census marks the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790.

*The Census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, et al use to provide daily services, products, and support for communities. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.

*The results of each Census also determine the number of seats each state has in the US House of Representatives. The results are also used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

*After overseeing the 1820 Census as Secretary of State, President John Quincy Adams in December 1828 then recommended that Census counts should start earlier than August.

*In 1900, Alexander Graham Bell served as an expert adviser to the US Census Bureau, preparing a “Report on the Deaf and the Blind.” Bell played a critical role in helping the Census more accurately count people who were visually and hearing impaired.

*The first time the Census was mailed to all homes was 1960. Census takers then went door to door to pick up completed questionnaires from residents.

*2020 marks the first time everyone has the option to respond to the Census online.

*The first home counted in the 2020 Census was in Toksook Bay, a rural Alaskan village on the Bering Sea. The county officially began there on Tuesday, January 21, about two months earlier than the rest of the country, the District of Columbia, and the five US territories, due to spring melts and travel challenges.

*The US Census Bureau Director — currently Steven Dillingham — traditionally counts the first home of each Census.

*As of September 28, Idaho, Maine, Puerto Rico, Vermont, and West Virginia were all recognized by the US Census Bureau as having 99.9 percent response rates this year.

*As of September 29, the Bureau reported 99.7 percent of all Connecticut housing units had been enumerated: 29.4 percent had enumerated in nonresponse followup, and 70.3 percent of the state’s households had self-responded this year.