Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the 2010 census came in $1.6 billion under budget:
Higher-than-anticipated response rates and an overqualified temporary workforce helped the U.S. Census Bureau keep the 2010 Census at least $1.6 billion under budget, officials announced Tuesday.
Congress appropriated $14.7 billion over 12 years for the 2010 head count, which began with planning meetings in 1999. More than half of the money was spent this year.
This year’s census was still the most expensive in U.S. history, but census budgets have climbed every decade since 1950 as the population and number of households increase. The Census Bureau managed to return $305 million from a $7 billion total budget in 2000.
The actual amount of money that will be returned to the government is still unknown, because census operations are scheduled to continue through the end of September. The amount will be no less than $1.6 billion and Congress will have the final say on what happens to the money, officials said.
