The United States Census Bureau is currently headquartered in Washington D.C. It was previously located in Suitland, Maryland from 1942 to 2007. Four thousand employees are housed on the main headquarters alone, so it is a pretty large undertaking. But that’s only part of the story. The bureau also has 12 regional offices located in various major cities – Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle. Additionally, the Census Office located in Jeffersonville, Indiana is the bureau’s National Processing Center.
When gearing up for the Census, which is held in the US every 10 years, the bureau conducts a census test for would-be enumerators (which is a fancy name for census taker). Census exam locations are distributed to these offices and sub offices in other states as the majority of the staff who work during the Census are actually hired from their local communities. After all, these are the people who know the area best.
In order to maximize coverage and jurisdiction, the Census Bureau has four official regions which branch out to nine official divisions. The four regions are Northeastern, Midwestern, Western, and Southern. Northeastern is divided into New England and Middle Atlantic, Midwestern has East North Central States and West North Central States, Western region is divided into the Pacific and Mountain States, and Southern has West South Central, East South Central, and South Atlantic. Census exam dates and locations are usually localized to nearby community centers in order to cater to most localities and offer census jobs to potential civil service workers.
The U.S. Census Bureau distributed informational pamphlets to all geographical and civic units to gain assistance in updating addresses for all communities. This was an early effort to make the 2010 Census as accurate as it can be. But they will still need plenty of feet on the ground, in the form of census takers who go out into their local community to confirm information or collect information from households that didn’t send in their Census forms. This is why so many folks are being hired for part-time and temporary census jobs this year.
The best way to apply to work as a census taker for 2010 is to contact your local bureau office. They can tell you when test are being held so you can schedule your time accordingly.