Population Census is one of the first quests you will get for the Streets of Tarkov map. It leads to another quest, so it is quite important to finish it for the raw experience points.
This quest is a bit tricky because there are multiple spawns for the necessary item and they could be different for each raid.
In this guide, we will guide you through the Streets of Tarkov map and show you how to finish Population Census in Escape from Tarkov.
Population Census Quest
“Good afternoon, mercenary. You’re just in time, I have an errand for you.
I need to determine how many people have gone missing in the city. To do this, I need a list of all the residents of the city and subtract the already evacuated, the dead, and those who found shelter in the hospital.
Your task is to find that list of residents. Bring me the journal from Primorsky District’s Housing Department.”
You will need to obtain the journal containing resident details. The quest item looks like a Diary and is very easy to spot.
Population Census Building Location
Credits to Jindouz for the amazing scaled Streets of Tarkov map. You can check Jindouz’s Reddit post of the map here.
Population Census takes place inside a small building near the big IDEA poster. You can divide the whole Streets of Tarkov map (0.13 patch) into five divisions.
If you go to Primorskij Ave, this will be the main road, and you can go left or right to go into these divisions:
- IDEA poster/Prestigio Cafe area in the middle of Zmejskij Alley, Primorskij Ave, and Chekannaya Street.
- Pinewood Hotel
- Big Abandoned Factory
- Concordia
- Cinema
Once you push through Primorskij Ave or the main road, look for the IDEA poster. On the street next to it should be the Pinewood Hotel.
There is a tiny entrance here, which can be a dangerous location but it leads directly to the quest building.
Another way of getting inside the area is through Zmejskij Alley. You will eventually see a playground and be able to push through the area.
This area spawns a lot of Scavs inside and outside the buildings.
Once you get inside the zone, look for the house in the image above. There should be a playground and a white van outside the house.
There is only one entry to the house, which is through the main door in the image above.
Population Census Journal Locations
The Journal can be found in five different spawn locations. It is quite rare to have a quest item with multiple spawn locations, but luckily they are all found in the same building.
Here are all the spawns inside the building where you can find the journal.
Spawn 1
The first room from the entrance should have bookshelves inside. Check the one in the photo above if it spawns here.
The area is pretty small, so you will eventually need to look at each spawn by going into each room inside the building.
Spawn 2
The journal spawns on the computer table. This appears to be the most common location for it to spawn, based on our experience.
Spawn 3
The next spawn should be inside the room next to the stairs going up. There is a reception desk, and you have to jump over the lockers behind to go through the back.
Look for the plant, and the journal should be nearby.
Spawn 4
The next spawn should just be on the table next to the desk lamp.
Spawn 5
For the last spawn, you need to go up to the second floor. There is only one unlocked room upstairs.
Go inside the unlocked room and head towards the fallen shelf. There are books on the floor and you will be able to see the journal here if it doesn’t spawn on the first four spawns.
How to Extract
Extraction can be a bit tricky because the 0.13 version of Streets of Tarkov is still quite small. There are so many PMCs in the game and you will definitely encounter some of them going to an extraction point.
You may hear some PMCs coming at you from every corner, but note that they could be inside buildings or in the basement. This will give you the chance to skip through them or avoid them even if they hear you and you hear them.
It is hard to get around chasing players because of the verticality of the map. It isn’t smart to chase players as well because you might find yourself out in the open and end up in a crossfire.
The extraction points will differ for each spawn, but the general extraction points without needing any requirement such as Roubles, keys, or Green Flares are Damaged House, Sewer River, Evacuation Zone, Collapsed Crane, Scav Checkpoint, and Underpass.
You can refer to Jindouz’s map in the first section of the guide.
For other extractions, they aren’t available for every raid.
The Courtyard extraction point is one of the easiest to remember, because it is on the corner of the map and it is next to the big cinema. You can’t get to The Courtyard in every raid. You will need to see a Green Flare on the floor in order to progress.
The Primorski Ave Taxi isn’t always available either, but it is just your typical vehicle extraction where you need to pay Roubles to get out.
Klimov Street is the first unique extraction point in Escape from Tarkov, where you need to shoot a Green Flare to extract from the location.
You can buy a Green Flare from Jaeger at level 1, so it is very accessible. However, it will take up two slots in your inventory each raid.
The Sewer River and the Evacuation Zone should be the easiest and safest extraction point. Pay attention to the direction of the gunshots in your raid to avoid running into trouble.
You need to survive with the Journal to finish the quest, so you should focus on getting it and extracting safely.
What to Do Next?
After the finishing the quest, you will get the Urban Medicine quest which is also in Streets of Tarkov. There are multiple Streets of Tarkov quests, so make sure you finish your other quests to unlock them together.
It will be more efficient to go to the map with multiple quests and finish each of them in one raid. You can even combine found-in-raid item quests like getting Gas Analyzers.
With this quest, you will end up near the Ushanka and Cowboy Hat quests so you should also look for these items.
