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101-701: Billerica ( / b ɪ l ˈ r ɪ k ə / ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex , England. In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian village named Shawshin was at the current site of Billerica, commonly spelled Shawsheen today, as in the Shawsheen River . In 1638, Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop and Lt. Governor Thomas Dudley were granted land along

202-660: A base-10 positional system. On May 25, 1577, King Philip II of Spain ordered by royal cédula the preparation of a general description of Spain's holdings in the Indies. Instructions and a questionnaire, issued in 1577 by the Office of the Cronista Mayor, were distributed to local officials in the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru to direct the gathering of information. The questionnaire, composed of fifty items,

303-544: A census for tax purposes, which was partially responsible for the development of the Zealot movement and several failed rebellions against Rome ultimately ending in the Jewish Diaspora . The Gospel of Luke makes reference to Quirinius' census in relation to the birth of Jesus ; based on variant readings of this passage, a minority of biblical scholars, including N. T. Wright , speculate that this passage refers to

404-408: A sampling frame such as an address register. Census counts are necessary to adjust samples to be representative of a population by weighting them as is common in opinion polling . Similarly, stratification requires knowledge of the relative sizes of different population strata, which can be derived from census enumerations. In some countries, the census provides the official counts used to apportion

505-412: A sampling frame to count the population. This is the only way to be sure that everyone has been included, as otherwise those not responding would not be followed up on and individuals could be missed. The fundamental premise of a census is that the population is not known, and a new estimate is to be made by the analysis of primary data. The use of a sampling frame is counterintuitive as it suggests that

606-480: A "permanent" address, which might be a family home for students or long-term migrants. A precise definition of residence is needed, to decide whether visitors to a country should be included in the population count. This is becoming more important as students travel abroad for education for a period of several years. Other groups causing problems with enumeration are newborn babies, refugees, people away on holiday, people moving home around census day, and people without

707-493: A change in state law. Immediately prior to its dissolution, the executive branch consisted of three County Commissioners elected at-large to staggered four-year terms. There was a County Treasurer elected to a six-year term. The county derived its revenue primarily from document filing fees at the Registries of Deeds and from a Deeds Excise Tax; also a transfer tax was assessed on the sale price of real estate and collected by

808-477: A clan or tribe, or by a juridical person such as a corporation, cooperative, or government agency. The holding's land may consist of one or more parcels, located in one or more separate areas or one or more territorial or administrative divisions, providing the parcels share the same production means, such as labor, farm buildings, machinery or draught animals. Historical censuses used crude enumeration assuming absolute accuracy. Modern approaches take into account

909-490: A country." "In a census of agriculture, data are collected at the holding level." The word is of Latin origin: during the Roman Republic , the census was a list of all adult males fit for military service. The modern census is essential to international comparisons of any type of statistics, and censuses collect data on many attributes of a population, not just the number of individuals. Censuses typically began as

1010-415: A family home during vacations, or children whose parents have separated who effectively have two family homes. Census enumeration has always been based on finding people where they live, as there is no systematic alternative: any list used to find people is likely to be derived from census activities in the first place. Recent UN guidelines provide recommendations on enumerating such complex households. In

1111-510: A fishing analogy can be found in "Trout, Catfish and Roach..." which won an award from the Royal Statistical Society for excellence in official statistics in 2011. Triple system enumeration has been proposed as an improvement as it would allow evaluation of the statistical dependence of pairs of sources. However, as the matching process is the most difficult aspect of census estimation this has never been implemented for

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1212-414: A fixed address. People with second homes, because they are working in another part of the country or have a holiday cottage, are difficult to fix at a particular address; this sometimes causes double counting or houses being mistakenly identified as vacant. Another problem is where people use a different address at different times e.g. students living at their place of education in term time but returning to

1313-482: A geographic boundary and is used primarily as district jurisdictions within the court system and for other administrative purposes; for example, as an election district. The National Weather Service weather alerts (such as severe thunderstorm warning ) continue to localize based on Massachusetts's counties. The county was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643, when it

1414-401: A household in the town was $ 87,073, and the median income for a family was $ 95,128. The per capita income for the town was $ 32,517. About 2.8% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over. Billerica was a contender for CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" in 2009 but did not make the top 100 list for

1515-500: A large city, it might be appropriate to give the average income for black males aged between 50 and 60. However, doing this for a town that only has two black males in this age group would be a breach of privacy because either of those persons, knowing his own income and the reported average, could determine the other man's income. Typically, census data are processed to obscure such individual information. Some agencies do this by intentionally introducing small statistical errors to prevent

1616-469: A national enumeration. It would also be difficult to identify three different sources that were sufficiently different to make the triple system effort worthwhile. The DSE approach has another weakness in that it assumes there is no person counted twice (over count). In de facto residence definitions this would not be a problem but in de jure definitions individuals risk being recorded on more than one form leading to double counting. A particular problem here

1717-596: A part of the Middlesex County government, was also relatedly forced to relocate to Medford at the time of the closure of the Superior Courthouse building in Cambridge. Of the fourteen counties of Massachusetts, Middlesex is one of eight which have had no county government or county commissioners since July 1, 1998, when county functions were assumed by state agencies at local option following

1818-433: A population and housing census – numbers of people, their distribution, their living conditions and other key data – is critical for development." This is because this type of data is essential for policymakers so that they know where to invest. Many countries have outdated or inaccurate data about their populations and thus have difficulty in addressing the needs of the population. The UNFPA said: "The unique advantage of

1919-460: A realist approach to measurement, acknowledging that under any definition of residence there is a true value of the population but this can never be measured with complete accuracy. An important aspect of the census process is to evaluate the quality of the data. Many countries use a post-enumeration survey to adjust the raw census counts. This works similarly to capture-recapture estimation for animal populations. Among census experts, this method

2020-704: A separate registration conducted during the reign of Herod the Great , several years before Quirinius' census. The 15-year indiction cycle established by Diocletian in AD   297 was based on quindecennial censuses and formed the basis for dating in late antiquity and under the Byzantine Empire . In the Middle Ages , the Caliphate began conducting regular censuses soon after its formation, beginning with

2121-453: Is called dual system enumeration (DSE). A sample of households is visited by interviewers who record the details of the household as of census day. These data are then matched to census records, and the number of people missed can be estimated by considering the number of people who are included in one count but not the other. This allows adjustments to the count for non-response, varying between different demographic groups. An explanation using

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2222-429: Is headed by a Town Manager, appointed by a five-person Select Board. Since the 2020 United States Census and the redistricting process following it, the town of Billerica has been split between the 3rd and 6th Massachusetts Congressional Districts. With the northern part of the town in the 3rd Congressional District and the southern half in the 6th Congressional District . The Middlesex House of Correction and Jail

2323-401: Is important in considering individuals who have multiple or temporary addresses. Every person should be identified uniquely as a resident in one place; but the place where they happen to be on Census Day, their de facto residence , may not be the best place to count them. Where an individual uses services may be more useful, and this is at their usual residence. An individual may be recorded at

2424-469: Is interested; researchers in particular have an interest in the role of Census Field Officers (CFO) and their assistants. Data can be represented visually or analysed in complex statistical models, to show the difference between certain areas, or to understand the association between different personal characteristics. Census data offer a unique insight into small areas and small demographic groups which sample data would be unable to capture with precision. In

2525-591: Is land and 29 square miles (75 km ) (3.5%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Massachusetts by land area. It is bounded southeast by the Charles River and drained by the Merrimack , Nashua , and Concord rivers, and other streams. The MetroWest region comprises much of the southern portion of the county. These routes pass through Middlesex County As of 2006 , Middlesex County

2626-714: Is named after the counting of the Israelite population according to the house of the Fathers after the exodus from Egypt. A second census was taken while the Israelites were camped in the " plains of Moab ". King David performed a census that produced disastrous results. His son, King Solomon , had all of the foreigners in Israel counted. One of the world's earliest preserved censuses was held in China in AD   2 during

2727-538: Is not known if there are any residents or how many people there are in each household. Depending on the mode of enumeration, a form is sent to the householder, an enumerator calls, or administrative records for the dwelling are accessed. As a preliminary to the dispatch of forms, census workers will check for any address problems on the ground. While it may seem straightforward to use the postal service file for this purpose, this can be out of date and some dwellings may contain several independent households. A particular problem

2828-815: Is oversight of the Middlesex House of Correction and Jail in Billerica . It formerly ran the Middlesex Jail in Cambridge , which closed on June 28, 2014. In addition, the Sheriff's Office operates the Office of Civil Process and, the Lowell Community Counseling Centers, and crime prevention and community service programs. The office of sheriff was created in 1692, making it one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in

2929-423: Is still conducted in a similar way to the post-enumeration survey employed in a traditional census. Other countries that have a population register use this as a basis for all the census statistics needed by users. This is most common among Nordic countries but requires many distinct registers to be combined, including population, housing, employment, and education. These registers are then combined and brought up to

3030-415: Is students who often have a term time and family address. Several countries have used a system known as short form/long form. This is a sampling strategy that randomly chooses a proportion of people to send a more detailed questionnaire to (the long form). Everyone receives the short-form questions. This means more data are collected, but without imposing a burden on the whole population. This also reduces

3131-491: Is typically collected about the household structure and the housing. For this reason, international documents refer to censuses of population and housing. Normally the census response is made by a household, indicating details of individuals resident there. An important aspect of census enumerations is determining which individuals can be counted and which cannot be counted. Broadly, three definitions can be used: de facto residence; de jure residence; and permanent residence. This

Billerica, Massachusetts - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-539: Is under the jurisdiction of the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office . Billerica is a sister city of Billericay , England. Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts , United States. As of the 2020 census , the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and

3333-416: Is what is termed " communal establishments ", a category that includes student residences, religious orders, homes for the elderly, people in prisons, etc. As these are not easily enumerated by a single householder, they are often treated differently and visited by special teams of census workers to ensure they are classified appropriately. Individuals are normally counted within households , and information

3434-566: The 2020 United States census , the Commonwealth's mean center of population for that year was geo-centered in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick (this is not to be confused with the geographic center of Massachusetts, which is in Rutland , Worcester County ). On July 11, 1997, Massachusetts abolished the executive government of Middlesex County primarily due to the county's insolvency . Middlesex County continues to exist as

3535-656: The 22nd most populous county in the United States . This also makes the county the most populous county on the East Coast outside of New York or Florida. Middlesex County is one of two U.S. counties (along with Santa Clara County, California ) to be amongst the top 25 counties with the highest household income and the 25 most populated counties. It is included in the Census Bureau's Boston – Cambridge – Newton , MA– NH Metropolitan Statistical Area . As part of

3636-547: The Battle of Bunker Hill , and Thomas Ditson, who was tarred and feathered in 1775 while on a visit to Boston after attempting to illegally purchase a musket from a British soldier. The song " Yankee Doodle " supposedly became a term of national pride instead of an insult because of this event. The town now celebrates "Yankee Doodle Weekend" every September. According to the United States Census Bureau ,

3737-539: The Concord River in the area, and roughly a dozen families from Cambridge and Charlestown Village had begun to occupy Shawshin by 1652. The settlers chose the name Billerica because some of the families originally came from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. The town was incorporated as Billerica in 1655, on the same day as neighboring Chelmsford and nearby Groton . The original plantation of Billerica

3838-553: The Han dynasty , and is still considered by scholars to be quite accurate. The population was registered as having 57,671,400 individuals in 12,366,470 households but on this occasion only taxable families had been taken into account, indicating the income and the number of soldiers who could be mobilized. Another census was held in AD   144. The oldest recorded census in India is thought to have occurred around 330   BC during

3939-527: The Middlesex Turnpike . The Middlesex Canal , which flowed through Billerica between 1795 and 1852, was used to transport goods between Lowell and Boston. In the 1840s, the Boston and Lowell Railroad 's main line was built and passed through the town's villages of North Billerica and East Billerica. Stations were built in both locations and North Billerica station is still an active station on

4040-535: The Superior Courthouse , one of which was formerly in Cambridge (since 2008 relocated to Woburn.) and one in Lowell; and the defunct Middlesex County Hospital in the city of Waltham. The legislation abolishing the Middlesex County executive retained the Sheriff and Registers of Deeds as independently elected officials, and transferred the Sheriff's Office under the state Department of Public Safety and

4141-541: The census of 2000, there were 38,981 people, 12,919 households, and 10,244 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,505.9 inhabitants per square mile (581.4/km). There were 13,071 housing units at an average density of 504.9 per square mile (194.9/km). The racial makeup of the town was 94.68% European American , 1.11% African American , 0.10% Native American , 2.76% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.33% from other races , and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of

Billerica, Massachusetts - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-692: The nomarch , "whence he gained his living". Under the Ptolemies and the Romans several censuses were conducted in Egypt by government officials. There are several accounts of ancient Greek city states carrying out censuses. Censuses are mentioned several times in the Biblical narrative. God commands a per capita tax to be paid with the census for the upkeep of the Tabernacle . The Book of Numbers

4343-437: The population size is already known. However, a census is also used to collect attribute data on the individuals in the nation, not only to assess population size. This process of sampling marks the difference between a historical census, which was a house-to-house process or the product of an imperial decree, and the modern statistical project. The sampling frame used by a census is almost always an address register. Thus, it

4444-412: The 19th and 20th centuries collected paper documents which had to be collated by hand, so the statistical information obtained was quite basic. The government that owned the data could publish statistics on the state of the nation. The results were used to measure changes in the population and apportion representation. Population estimates could be compared to those of other countries. By the beginning of

4545-437: The 20th century, censuses were recording households and some indications of their employment. In some countries, census archives are released for public examination after many decades, allowing genealogists to track the ancestry of interested people. Archives provide a substantial historical record which may challenge established views. Information such as job titles and arrangements for the destitute and sick may also shed light on

4646-751: The Bay State." MBTA Commuter Rail provides service from Boston 's North Station with the North Billerica station on its Lowell Line . The southern portions of the town are also geographically close to the Wilmington (MBTA station) and the Anderson Regional Transportation Center in Woburn. The Lowell Regional Transit Authority provides bus service in parts of Billerica. Route #3 (South Lowell) services

4747-671: The Boston Pops, throughout the British Isles and Western Europe, and at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo's Salute to Australia in Sydney, Australia. Census The UN 's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in turn, defines the census of agriculture as "a statistical operation for collecting, processing and disseminating data on the structure of agriculture, covering the whole or a significant part of

4848-482: The MBTA Commuter Rail. Trains stopped taking passengers at East Billerica in 1965 and the station was remodeled and is now a private home. Billerica has been governed through a representative town meeting since 1956, after citizens approved its adoption in 1955. In this system, 240 representatives are elected from 12 precincts to attend the town meeting, the town's legislative branch. The executive branch

4949-559: The Massachusetts State Legislature created a minor Registry of Deeds for the Northern District of Middlesex County in Lowell. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Boston annexed several of its adjacent cities and towns including Charlestown and Brighton from Middlesex County, resulting in an enlargement and accretion toward Suffolk County . Beginning prior to the dissolution of

5050-910: The North Billerica MBTA station and the North Billerica Business Center. Route #13 (Billerica via Edson) services Boston Road ( Massachusetts Route 3A ) from North Billerica to Pinehurst . Stops along the way include the North Billerica MBTA Station, Pollard Street, High Street, Billerica Center and Town Hall, the Billerica Mall, and Towne Plaza, and a shopping center located in Riverdale. Route #14 ( Burlington Mall / Lahey Hospital & Medical Center ) services Route 3A until Billerica Center, where it continues onto Concord Road and

5151-550: The Northern District at Lowell and another for the Southern District at Cambridge) are each elected to serve six-year terms. Besides the employees of the Sheriff's Office and the two Registries of Deeds, the county had a Maintenance Department, a Security Department, some administrative staff in the Treasurer's and Commissioners' Offices, and the employees of the hospital. The county government also owned and operated

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5252-493: The Registries of Deeds. Budgets as proposed by the County Commissioners were approved by a County Advisory Board that consisted of a single representative of each of the 54 cities and towns in Middlesex County. The votes of the individual members of the advisory board were weighted based on the overall valuation of property in their respective communities. The County Sheriff and two Registers of Deeds (one for

5353-463: The UK, all census formats are scanned and stored electronically before being destroyed, replacing the need for physical archives. The record linking to perform an administrative census would not be possible without large databases being stored on computer systems. There are sometimes problems in introducing new technology. The US census had been intended to use handheld computers, but cost escalated, and this

5454-417: The United States. The sheriff is elected to a 6-year term. Notable sheriffs include: Prior to 1960, Middlesex County was a Republican Party stronghold, backing only two Democratic Party presidential candidates from 1876 to 1956. The 1960 election started a reverse trend, with the county becoming a Democratic stronghold. This has been even more apparent in recent years, with George H. W. Bush in 1988 being

5555-405: The average family size was 3.30. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males. As of the 2010 census, the median income for

5656-417: The burden on the statistical office. Indeed, in the UK until 2001 all residents were required to fill in the whole form but only a 10% sample was coded and analysed in detail. New technology means that all data are now scanned and processed. During the 2011 Canadian census there was controversy about the cessation of the mandatory long-form census; the head of Statistics Canada , Munir Sheikh , resigned upon

5757-438: The census is also an important tool for identifying forms of social, demographic or economic exclusions, such as inequalities relating to race, ethics, and religion as well as disadvantaged groups such as those with disabilities and the poor. An accurate census can empower local communities by providing them with the necessary information to participate in local decision-making and ensuring they are represented. The importance of

5858-536: The census is that it represents the entire statistical universe, down to the smallest geographical units, of a country or region. Planners need this information for all kinds of development work, including: assessing demographic trends; analysing socio-economic conditions; designing evidence-based poverty-reduction strategies; monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies; and tracking progress toward national and internationally agreed development goals." In addition to making policymakers aware of population issues,

5959-443: The census of agriculture , data is collected at the agricultural holding unit. An agricultural holding is an economic unit of agricultural production under single management comprising all livestock kept and all land used wholly or partly for agricultural production purposes, without regard to title, legal form, or size. Single management may be exercised by an individual or household, jointly by two or more individuals or households, by

6060-474: The census of agriculture for development is that it gives a snapshot of the structure of the agricultural sector in a country and, when compared with previous censuses, provides an opportunity to identify trends and structural transformations of the sector, and points towards areas for policy intervention. Census data are used as a benchmark for current statistics and their value is increased when they are employed together with other data sources. Early censuses in

6161-563: The census of agriculture, users need census data to: Although the census provides useful statistical information about a population, the availability of this information could sometimes lead to abuses, political or otherwise, by the linking of individuals' identities to anonymous census data. This is particularly important when individuals' census responses are made available in microdata form, but even aggregate-level data can result in privacy breaches when dealing with small areas and/or rare subpopulations. For instance, when reporting data from

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6262-575: The central government. Differing release strategies of governments have led to an international project ( IPUMS ) to co-ordinate access to microdata and corresponding metadata. Such projects such as SDMX also promote standardising metadata, so that best use can be made of the minimal data available. Censuses in Egypt first appeared in the late Middle Kingdom and developed in the New Kingdom Pharaoh Amasis , according to Herodotus , required every Egyptian to declare annually to

6363-611: The cities and towns in which they are located. School districts include: K-12: Secondary: Elementary: Tertiary institutions include: Middlesex County is home to the Middlesex County Volunteers , a fife and drum corps that plays music from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Founded in 1982 at the end of the United States Bicentennial celebration, the group performs extensively throughout New England. They have also performed at

6464-520: The combination of data from registers, surveys and other sources. Censuses have evolved in their use of technology: censuses in 2010 used many new types of computing. In Brazil, handheld devices were used by enumerators to locate residences on the ground. In many countries, census returns could be made via the Internet as well as in paper form. DSE is facilitated by computer matching techniques that can be automated, such as propensity score matching . In

6565-549: The county was 80.0% white, 9.3% Asian, 4.7% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 3.3% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.5% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: Of the 580,688 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.9% were non-families, and 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size

6666-541: The executive county government, the county comprised two regions with separate county seats for administrative purposes: Since the start of the 21st century, much of the current and former county offices have physically decentralized from the Cambridge seat, with the sole exceptions being the Registry of Deeds and the Middlesex Probate and Family Court, which both retain locations in Cambridge and Lowell. Since

6767-548: The federal government's decision to do so. The use of alternative enumeration strategies is increasing but these are not as simple as many people assume and are only used in developed countries. The Netherlands has been most advanced in adopting a census using administrative data . This allows a simulated census to be conducted by linking several different administrative databases at an agreed time. Data can be matched, and an overall enumeration established allowing for discrepancies between different data sources. A validation survey

6868-680: The first quarter of 2008, the Superior Courthouse has been seated in the city of Woburn ; the Sheriff's Office is now administratively seated in the city of Medford and the Cambridge-based County Jail has since been amalgamated with another county jail facility in Billerica. The Cambridge District Court (which has jurisdiction for Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge); along with the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, although not

6969-514: The following towns: Chelmsford , Lowell , Tewksbury , Wilmington , Burlington , Bedford , and Carlisle . The border with Lowell is at a point in the middle of the Concord River where Billerica, Chelmsford, Lowell and Tewksbury all meet . The Shawsheen River and Concord River are the two major waterways within the town. Nuttings Lake offers a public beach and other recreational water activities including canoeing and sailing. As of

7070-423: The form of conditional distributions ( histograms ) can be derived interactively from the estimated mixture model without any further access to the original database. As the final product does not contain any protected microdata, the model-based interactive software can be distributed without any confidentiality concerns. Another method is simply to release no data at all, except very large scale data directly to

7171-485: The governmental functions such as property tax assessment and collection, public education, road repair and maintenance, and elections were all conducted at the municipal city and town level and not by the county government. In 2012 the 22-story Superior Court Building in Cambridge which was transferred from the abolished Executive County government was sold by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Due to its transfer from state control, many local residents had tried to force

7272-792: The historical structure of society. Political considerations influence the census in many countries. In Canada in 2010 for example, the government under the leadership of Stephen Harper abolished the mandatory long-form census. This abolition was a response to protests from some Canadians who resented the personal questions. The long-form census was reinstated by the Justin Trudeau government in 2016. As governments assumed responsibility for schooling and welfare, large government research departments made extensive use of census data. Population projections could be made, to help plan for provision in local government and regions. Central government could also use census data to allocate funding. Even in

7373-466: The identification of individuals in marginal populations; others swap variables for similar respondents. Whatever is done to reduce the privacy risk, new improved electronic analysis of data can threaten to reveal sensitive individual information. This is known as statistical disclosure control . Another possibility is to present survey results by means of statistical models in the form of a multivariate distribution mixture. The statistical information in

7474-511: The internet. It is also possible that the hidden nature of an administrative census means that users are not engaged with the importance of contributing their data to official statistics. Alternatively, population estimations may be carried out remotely with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing technologies. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), "The information generated by

7575-469: The largest Irish-American population of any U.S. county with a plurality of Irish ancestry. The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list is reflective if the census-designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The primary responsibility of the Middlesex Sheriff's Office

7676-566: The last Republican presidential candidate to manage forty percent of the county's votes and Mitt Romney in 2012 being the last Republican presidential candidate to manage even thirty percent of the vote. In 2020, Joe Biden won 71% of the vote, the highest percent for any presidential candidate since 1964. Most municipalities in Middlesex County have a town form of government; the remainder are cities, and are so designated on this list. Villages listed below are census or postal divisions but have no separate corporate or statutory existence from

7777-524: The mid 20th century, census data was only directly accessible to large government departments. However, computers meant that tabulations could be used directly by university researchers, large businesses and local government offices. They could use the detail of the data to answer new questions and add to local and specialist knowledge. Nowadays, census data are published in a wide variety of formats to be accessible to business, all levels of government, media, students and teachers, charities, and any citizen who

7878-478: The nation. In 2016, Billerica was on the NeighborhoodScout 's "America's Top 100 Safest Cities" list. Billerica Public Schools operate primary and secondary schools. The Billerica public school system consists of five elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. A sixth elementary school, Eugene C. Vining Elementary, closed permanently at the end of the 2019 school year. In addition,

7979-653: The north. The town is also situated less than 3 miles (5 km) from the Massachusetts Route 128 /Interstate 95 High-Technology belt to the south and less than 2 miles (3 km) from the Interstate 495 (Massachusetts) outer belt highway to the north. Billerica has several small neighborhoods that form villages (or sections) of town. Those villages are Billerica Center, East Billerica, North Billerica , Nutting Lake, Pinehurst , West Billerica, River Pines, Riverdale, and South Billerica. Billerica borders

8080-403: The number of elected representatives to regions (sometimes controversially – e.g., Utah v. Evans ). In many cases, a carefully chosen random sample can provide more accurate information than attempts to get a population census. A census is often construed as the opposite of a sample as it intends to count everyone in a population, rather than a fraction. However, population censuses do rely on

8181-497: The one ordered by the second Rashidun caliph , Umar . The Domesday Book was undertaken in AD   1086 by William I of England so that he could properly tax the land he had recently conquered. In 1183, a census was taken of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem , to ascertain the number of men and amount of money that could possibly be raised against an invasion by Saladin , sultan of Egypt and Syria . The first national census of France ( L'État des paroisses et des feux )

8282-482: The only method of collecting national demographic data and are now part of a larger system of different surveys. Although population estimates remain an important function of a census, including exactly the geographic distribution of the population or the agricultural population, statistics can be produced about combinations of attributes, e.g., education by age and sex in different regions. Current administrative data systems allow for other approaches to enumeration with

8383-409: The population. There were 12,919 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and

8484-525: The private developers to reduce the overall height of the structure. Even following the abolition of the executive branch for county government in Middlesex, communities are still granted a right by the Massachusetts state legislature to form their own regional compacts for sharing of services and costs thereof. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 847 square miles (2,190 km ), of which 818 square miles (2,120 km )

8585-428: The problems of overcount and undercount and the coherence of census enumerations with other official sources of data. For instance, during the 2020 U.S. Census, the Census Bureau counted people primarily by collecting answers sent by mail, on the internet, over the phone, or using shared information through proxies. These methods accounted for 95.5 percent of all occupied housing units in the United States. This reflects

8686-506: The reign of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya under the leadership of Chanakya and Ashoka . The English term is taken directly from the Latin census , from censere ("to estimate"). The census played a crucial role in the administration of the Roman government, as it was used to determine the class a citizen belonged to for both military and tax purposes. Beginning in the middle republic, it

8787-443: The same level of detail but raise concerns about privacy and the possibility of biasing estimates. A census can be contrasted with sampling in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population; typically, main population estimates are updated by such intercensal estimates . Modern census data are commonly used for research, business marketing , and planning, and as a baseline for designing sample surveys by providing

8888-534: The standard of a statistical register by comparing the data from different sources and ensuring the quality is sufficient for official statistics to be produced. A recent innovation is the French instigation of a rolling census program with different regions enumerated each year so that the whole country is completely enumerated every 5 to 10 years. In Europe, in connection with the 2010 census round, many countries adopted alternative census methodologies, often based on

8989-540: The town has a total area of 26.4 square miles (68 km), of which 25.9 square miles (67 km) are land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km) (1.90%) is water. Billerica is located 20 miles (32 km) north-northwest of Boston along the Northwest Expressway portion of U.S. Route 3 , positioning it as the border between Boston’s inner suburbs to the south and the Merrimack Valley region to

9090-403: The town is home to a regional technical high school. Shawsheen Valley Technical Highschool. There are no parochial or private schools in the town of Billerica. However, there are several in neighboring towns including: In celebrating Sports Illustrated 's 50th anniversary, the magazine named Billerica one of the nation's top fifty towns for sports and recreation and the "Sportstown for

9191-621: The two Registries of Deeds. Besides the Sheriff and the two Registers of Deeds, the Middlesex District Attorney, the Middlesex Register of Probate and the Middlesex Clerk of Courts (which were already part of state government before the abolition of Middlesex County government) are all elected countywide to six-year terms. In Middlesex County (as in the entirety of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts),

9292-559: The two Registry of Deeds offices to the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office. Additionally, all county maintenance and security employees were absorbed into the corresponding staffs of the Massachusetts Trial Court . The legislation also transferred ownership of the two Superior Courthouses to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The hospital was closed. Finally, the office of County Commissioner

9393-661: Was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age was 38.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 77,377 and the median income for a family was $ 97,382. Males had a median income of $ 64,722 versus $ 50,538 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 40,139. About 5.1% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over. 79.6% spoke English , 4.3% Spanish , 2.7% Portuguese , 1.6% Italian , 1.6% Chinese including Mandarin and other Chinese dialects and 1.5% French as their first language. Middlesex County has

9494-443: Was abandoned, with the contract being sold to Brazil. The online response has some advantages, but one of the functions of the census is to make sure everyone is counted accurately. A system that allowed people to enter their address without verification would be open to abuse. Therefore, households have to be verified on the ground, typically by an enumerator visit or post out . Paper forms are still necessary for those without access to

9595-533: Was designed to elicit basic information about the nature of the land and the life of its peoples. The replies, known as " relaciones geográficas ", were written between 1579 and 1585 and were returned to the Cronista Mayor in Spain by the Council of the Indies. The earliest estimate of the world population was made by Giovanni Battista Riccioli in 1661; the next by Johann Peter Süssmilch in 1741, revised in 1762;

9696-487: Was divided during the colonial period into the towns of Billerica, Bedford , Wilmington , and Tewksbury . The oldest remaining homestead in the town is the Manning Manse built in 1696, which was also the residence of William Manning (1747–1814), the author of The Key of Liberty, a critique of Federalist policies. Other notable Revolutionary War–era residents included Asa Pollard , the first soldier killed at

9797-424: Was immediately abolished and the office of County Treasurer was abolished as of December 31, 2002. Any county roads transferred to the Commonwealth as part of the dissolution. The other administrative duties (such as Sheriff, Department of Deeds and court system , etc.) and all supporting staff were transferred under the Commonwealth as well. Records of land ownership in Middlesex County continue to be maintained at

9898-505: Was ordered that "the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four shires. " Middlesex initially contained Charlestown , Cambridge , Watertown , Sudbury , Concord , Woburn , Medford , and Reading . In 1649 the first Middlesex County Registry of Deeds was created in Cambridge. On April 19, 1775, Middlesex was the site of the first armed conflict of the American Revolutionary War . In 1855,

9999-403: Was tenth in the United States on the list of most millionaires per county. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 1,503,085 people, 580,688 households, and 366,656 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,837.9 inhabitants per square mile (709.6/km ). There were 612,004 housing units at an average density of 748.3 per square mile (288.9/km ). The racial makeup of

10100-524: Was undertaken in 1328, mostly for fiscal purposes. It estimated the French population at 16 to 17 million. In the 15th century, the Inca Empire had a unique way to record census information. The Incas did not have any written language but recorded information collected during censuses and other numeric information as well as non-numeric data on quipus , strings from llama or alpaca hair or cotton cords with numeric and other values encoded by knots in

10201-493: Was usually carried out every five years. It provided a register of citizens and their property from which their duties and privileges could be listed. It is said to have been instituted by the Roman king Servius Tullius in the 6th century BC, at which time the number of arms-bearing citizens was supposedly counted at around 80,000. When the Romans conquered Judea in AD   6, the legate Publius Sulpicius Quirinius organized

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