The census is usually taken every 10 years in most countries, including the United States, where a nationwide population census is conducted in years ending in zero.

Quick Scoop

  • In the United States, the main population and housing census (the “decennial census”) is required by the Constitution and happens every 10 years, in years ending in zero (e.g., 2010, 2020, 2030).
  • The United Nations recommends that countries hold a population and housing census at least once every 10 years, which is why that interval is now common worldwide.
  • Some countries also run other censuses on different cycles, like:
    • Economic Census in the U.S. every 5 years.
* Census of Governments in the U.S. every 5 years (years ending in “2” and “7”).

In everyday usage, when people ask “how often is the census taken,” they almost always mean the national population census, and that is typically every 10 years.

TL;DR: The standard answer is: the national population census is taken once every 10 years in the U.S. and in many other countries, following global recommendations.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.