Political Representation
Census data is used to draw political and geographic boundaries. Every 10 years there is a shift in federal, state and local government based solely on census data. The fight for congressional seats, or reapportionment, is the most famous aspect of this use of the census. By law, there can be only 435 Congressional seats. The number of seats each state gets in the House of Representatives is reviewed after the Census results are in and a new plan is drawn up to reapportion seats according to shifts in population. Each of the two major parties vie for reapportionment plans that place them in the strongest position for building electoral power. 
 
After every census, some states get more seats and some states lose seats. For example, after the 2000 Census, New York lost two Congressional seats Florida gained two Congressional seats and Mississippi lost one seat. Small shifts in district lines can dramatically affect a community’s voice at the federal level.   Reapportionment plans can help consolidate communities so that they have a better chance of electing representative officials, or isolate them as marginal minorities of districts where they share little common ground with the majority of residents. 
 
Beyond Congressional lines, census tracts are used to draw school districts, county lines, community development districts and more. This process is called redistricting. Counties will review population changes and, in some cases, attempt to annex unincorporated areas or independent cities (cities not incorporated into a county) in order to boost their population figures.   Another tactic counties have increasingly looked to for increasing population is prison construction. Offenders are now counted where they serve so jailing counties not only make money from the prison industry, they get more power and electoral clout, too. For a fun and interactive way to learn more about redistricting, try this online game from at http://www.redistrictinggame.org/
 
Money
Each year more than $400 billion in federal funds is awarded to states and communities based, in part, on census data. This money is used for medicare, social services, school funding, local share of state revenues as well as the maintenance of critical infrastructures such as Fire Departments, Police Departments, Health Departments and Transportation.