How to complete the Population Census quest in Escape from Tarkov

Another day, and another task to complete in Escape from Tarkov. This time, Therapist wants to determine how many people in the city have gone missing—and to do that, you’ll need to hunt for a journal of records.

Here’s how to find the journal and complete the Population Census quest in Escape from Tarkov.

Escape from Tarkov: Population Census quest guide

Therapist has issued you with a tall task—determining how many people in the city have gone missing. Tarkov has a record of this via the Housing office journal that is kept somewhere in the Streets of Tarkov map.

Specifically, you can find the journal in the Housing Department, a small building located at the center of Streets of Tarkov. The above map shows where you need to go, but we’ve broken it down further below.

Finding the journal in the Housing Department

The journal can be found in the Housing Department, a building on the map Streets of Tarkov. Head down Primorskij Avenue across from the Pinewood Hotel. You’re looking for a sky bridge directly opposite the Burger Spot and next to the IDEA poster.

Walk under the sky bridge, and the Housing Department will be right in front of you. The medium-sized yellow building cannot be entered via the front door as it is boarded up, so walk through the playground on the left and enter via the red door at the rear of the building.

The journal will be in one of five locations in the Housing Department—we’ve listed the locations below.

Location one

On the second door to the right after you enter the Housing Department, a small office with a desk and bookshelf awaits behind the door. The journal will be in the marked red square above and on the bookshelf.

Location two

Continue down the hall to your left, then turn right. An office on the right will feature a double desk with a lamp—the journal will be on the desk under the lamp.

Location three

Go back to the hall and continue in the original direction. In a room next to the staircase on the left will be the main reception with a filing cabinet and a long desk behind a counter. The journal will be in the small drawer under the pot plant.

Location four

Go back to the hallway and continue to the end. There should be an office with a door on the left of the hallway with three desks. The journal will be on the first desk on the right, hanging off the edge of the desk.

Location five

If you’ve cleared all four locations so far, the last place to check will be upstairs. On the first floor and in the first door to the left that you can open will be a bookshelf with its contents emptied. The journal will be under the darkened desk between it and the bookshelf, in amongst the other books.

If you’ve checked all five locations and failed to find the journal, it’s likely another player has beaten you to the location and you’ll need to restart the raid.

Extract the journal and complete the quest

Once you’ve got the journal in your possession, it’s time to leave. Head back out to the main road under the sky bridge, then head for an exfil. Either the Collapsed Crane or the Sewer River works as the best extraction locations (if they’re available to you).

Be careful of other players and Scavs on your way out. The Housing Department and its nearby buildings have some sweet loot to find, so expect a few people to be picking around.

Turn in the journal to Therapist and the quest will be complete. You’ll be rewarded with 6,900 EXP, 35,000 Roubles, two Salewa first aid kits, and two Medical tools, as well as some vendor reputation.