Counting everyone once, only once, and in the right place.
The U.S. Constitution mandates that every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau takes a count of every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The mission of the Census Bureau, and the decennial census, is to provide quality data about the nation’s people and economy.
The census provides important information for you, your community’s leaders, and state and national governments. The information is used to:
- Determine how many representatives each state gets.
- Draw congressional and state legislative districts, school districts and voting precincts. The Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to the states by March 31, 2021.
- Distribute more than $675 billion federal dollars annually to states.
- Inform federal, tribal, state and local government planning decisions.
- Inform business and nonprofit organization decisions, such as where to locate.
By March 12, 2020, households will begin receiving official Census Bureau mail with detailed information on how to respond. In 2020, it will be easier than ever to respond to the census thanks to advances in technology. For the first time, you will be able to respond online, by phone or by mail.
Help ensure our community is counted by accurately responding to the 2020 census. The Census Bureau is bound by federal law to protect your information.
For more information on the census, who should be counted and more, visit www.2020census.gov.
[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]