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Census 2020

Published on 1/11/2020

2020 Census: How Your Village Can Help

 

The 2020 Census counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.Countdown, 81 days until April 1, 2020.

 

The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. The 2020 Census counts the population in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each home will receive an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire—online, by phone, or by mail. This will mark the first time that you will be able to respond to the census online.

 

As required by the Census Act, the U.S. Census Bureau submitted a list of questions to Congress on March 29, 2018. Based on those questions, the 2020 Census will ask:

 

  • How many people are living or staying at your home on April 1, 2020.This will help us count the entire U.S. population and ensure that we count peopleaccording to where they live on Census Day.
  • Whether the home is owned or rented.This will help us produce statistics about homeownership and renting. The rates of homeownership serve as one indicator of the nation's economy. They also help in administering housing programs and informing planning decisions.
  • About the sex of each person in your home.This allows us to create statistics about males and females, which can be used in planning and funding government programs. This data can also be used to enforce laws, regulations, and policies against discrimination.
  • About the age of each person in your home.The U.S. Census Bureau creates statistics to better understand the size and characteristics of different age groups. Agencies use this data to plan and fund government programs that support specific age groups, including children and older adults.
  • About the race of each person in your home.This allows us to create statistics about race and to provideother statistics by racial groups. This data helps federal agencies monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions, such as those in the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
  • About whether a person in your home is of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.These responses help create statistics about this ethnic group. This is needed by federal agencies to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions, such as those in the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
  • About the relationship of each person in your home.This allows the Census Bureau to create estimates about families, households, and other groups. Relationship data is used in planning and funding government programs that support families, including people raising children alone.

 

Governments, businesses, communities, andnonprofitsall rely on the data that these questions produce to make critical decisions.

 

The Census Will Never Ask Certain Questions

 

During the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau willneverask you for:

  • Your Social Security number.
  • Money or donations.
  • Anything on behalf of a political party.
  • Your bank or credit card account numbers.

 

If someone claiming to be from the Census Bureau contacts you via email or phone and asks you for one of these things, it'sa scam, and you should not cooperate.

 

What Happens to Your Answers?

Your personal information is keptconfidential. The Census Bureau is bound by federal law to protect your information, and your data is used only for statistical purposes.

 

Your responses are compiled with information from other homes to produce statistics, which never identify your home or any person in your home. Learn more abouthow we protect your information.

 

Your response matters.

Health clinics. Fire departments. Schools. Even roads and highways. The census can shape many different aspects of your community.

  • Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year.
  • The results determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
  • It's mandated by the U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2: The U.S. has counted its population every 10 years since 1790.

 

Villages Can Support Their Communities!

Census results are used to determine your representation in Congress, and they help inform how billions of dollars are distributed for hospitals, schools, roads, and more. Help ensure that everyone in your community is counted in the 2020 Census.

 

2020 Census Jobs

The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting to fill hundreds of thousands of temporary positions across the country to assist with the 2020 Census count. Click the link below to learn more about Census Jobs!

 

https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html