ABSTRACT
In April 1960 the United States took its eighteenth decennial population census. It established the official population totals for every state, county, municipality, and each of the smaller divisions of government. It gives information about the incomes of persons and of families, the size of families, and the migration of the people. The United States census, however, is the oldest regular continuous census of population. The basic purpose of the census was to meet a problem that the founding fathers foresaw clearly. They had provided that in the House of Representatives, the number of representatives from each state should be based on the population of that state. From the census of 1960, it is learnt that the population had increased by about 18 per cent in ten years, to a total of almost 180 million persons. The population living on farms had decreased greatly.
