2020 Census: What it means & How it effects everything!

The 2020 Census will provide a snapshot of our nation—our population, where we live, and so much more. The results are critically important because this once-a-decade census data helps businesses, researchers, and communities make decisions. The data can help inform where your community needs a new fire department, more funding for school lunches, or new roads.

Of course, the census tells us much more than just the population of our country, your state, and your community. The census produces a wide range of statistics about the makeup of those populations, from ages and races to how many people own their home.

​In 2010, for example, we learned that women made up 50.8 percent of the population. We also learned that the male population grew at a slightly faster rate (9.9 percent) than the female population (9.5 percent) in the decade between 2000 and 2010.

By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. You will have three options for responding:

• Online.
• By phone.
• By mail.

The 2020 Census marks the first time you’ll have the option to respond online. You can even respond on your mobile device.

Your personal information is kept confidential. 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 identifies your home or any person in your home.

 

During the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will never ask 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’s a scam, and you should not cooperate.

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 people according 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 provide other 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, and nonprofits all rely on the data that these questions produce to make critical decisions.

Here are a few resources to help get you prepared for the census:

2020 Census Recruitment Toolkit

Provides resources to help raise awareness of 2020 Census job opportunities.

2020 Complete Count Committee

Explains what Complete Count Committees are and how to join.

2020 Census Bureau Infographics & Visuals

2020 Census graphics you can share.

2020 Census Fact Sheets

Learn more about specific topics at-a-glance with Census Bureau Fact Sheets.

 

 

For more information about the 2020 Census please visit their website at 2020Census.gov

adapted from 2020census.gov