How To Become A Census Taker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a census taker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a census taker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.55 an hour? That's $38,585 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce -5,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCensus TakerUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,585

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

9.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.00%

Asian 5.28%

Black or African American 12.62%

Hispanic or Latino 18.59%

Unknown 5.42%

White 57.10%

Gender

female 61.79%

male 38.21%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a census taker

Explore census taker education requirements

Most common census taker degrees

Bachelor's

39.0 %

Associate

25.3 %

High School Diploma

20.6 %

Start to develop specific census taker skills

Skills	Percentages
Confidentiality Laws	13.01%
Census Bureau	12.92%
Paper Forms	9.59%
US Census	7.93%
Conduct Interviews	7.77%

Complete relevant census taker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New census takers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a census taker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real census taker resumes.

Research census taker duties and responsibilities

Follow GPS locations to specific homes en route.
Use handheld GPS pinpoint navigation mapping system to input data for all addresses that exist or no longer exist.
Select to work on subsequent quality control operation along with other top enumerators.
Enter applicant data into DAPPS computer.

Prepare your census taker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your census taker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a census taker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable census taker resume templates

Build a professional census taker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your census taker resume.