It’s the dawning of a new decade, and with it, the federal government is getting ready to ask some personal questions for the 2020 census. By next April 1, the Census Bureau plans to send a letter or a door knocker to every U.S. household. It’s part of a once-a-decade tradition of counting every person living in the U.S.
Each national head count usually comes with a rash of confusion. The 2020 census will be the first in the U.S. since the rise of social media. The government has already begun preparing to combat disinformation campaigns that may try to disrupt the count, which is rolling out during what’s expected to be a heated presidential race.
The deadline to respond is July 31, and participation is mandated by federal law. So before trashing that envelope along with advertisements and mailers, here’s what to know about the decennial census and why it’s important.
Why is the census important?
The census is required by the Constitution, which has called for an “actual enumeration” once a decade since 1790.
Your response matters. A lot. Health clinics. Fire departments. Schools. Even roads and highways. The census can shape many different aspects of your community.
The 2020 population numbers will shape, for example, how political power and federal tax dollars are shared in the U.S over the next 10 years. The number of congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets are determined by census numbers.
They also guide how an estimated $880 billion a year in federal funding is distributed for schools, roads and other public services in local communities.
The demographic data are also used by businesses to determine, for example, where to build new supermarkets and by emergency responders to locate injured people after natural disasters.
It’s a major undertaking!
The federal government has been counting people every 10 years since 1790. In total, $6.3 billion has been budgeted for this year’s process. The Census Bureau will hire half a million temporary workers nationwide to help with the count.
When does the 2020 census officially start?
The head count is set to officially begin on Jan. 21, in Toksook Bay, Alaska — more than two months before Census Day (April 1), which is a reference date. Most households can start participating around mid-March, when letters with instructions are scheduled to be sent to 95 percent of homes around the country.
IMPORTANT CENSUS DATES
March 12 – 20: Households will begin receiving official Census Bureau mail with detailed information on how to respond to the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail.
March 30 – April 1: The Census Bureau will count people who are experiencing homelessness over these three days. As part of this process, the Census Bureau counts people in shelters, at soup kitchens and mobile food vans, on the streets, and at non-sheltered, outdoor locations such as tent encampments.
April 1: Census Day is observed nationwide. By this date, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. Once the invitation arrives, you should respond for your home in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail. When you respond to the census, you’ll tell the Census Bureau where you live as of April 1, 2020.
April: Census takers will begin visiting college students who live on campus, people living in senior centers, and others who live among large groups of people. Census takers also begin conducting quality check interviews to help ensure an accurate count.
May – July: Census takers will begin visiting homes that haven’t responded to the 2020 Census to help make sure everyone is counted.
December: The Census Bureau will deliver apportionment counts to the President and Congress as required by law.
March 31, 2021: By this date, the Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to states. This information is used to redraw legislative districts based on population changes.
How is the census taken?
The 2020 count will be the first one to allow all U.S. households to respond online. Paper forms will still be available, and, for the first time, you can call 1-800 numbers to give responses over the phone. Census workers will make home visits to remote areas — including rural Alaska, parts of northern Maine and some American Indian reservations — to gather census information in person. Households in the rest of the U.S. that do not respond themselves by early April may start receiving visits from door knockers trained to conduct census interviews and collect responses using smartphones.
Who gets counted in the census?
The Census Bureau includes every person living in the U.S. — regardless of citizenship or immigration status. International visitors on vacation or work trips to the U.S. during the census are not included. Residents are counted at the address where they usually live and sleep. The Census Bureau has a detailed breakdown of how the 2020 census will count deployed troops, college students, incarcerated people, those displaced by natural disasters and other groups in unique living situations.
What questions will the 2020 census ask?
Most of the questions will be similar to what census forms have asked for in recent counts:
- The number of people living or staying in a home on April 1, 2020.
- Whether the home is owned with or without a mortgage, rented or occupied without rent.
- A phone number for a person in the home.
- The name, sex, age, date of birth and race of each person in the home.
- Whether each person is of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.
- The relationship of each person to a central person in the home.
Notable changes for 2020 include new write-in areas under the race question for the non-Hispanic origins of those who identify as white and/or black (“German” and “Jamaican” are among the provided examples). There are also new household relationship categories that allow couples living together to identify their relationships as either “same-sex” or “opposite-sex.”
Can I refuse to answer a census question?
You can skip questions, submit an incomplete census form, and still be included in the head count. But you can be fined for refusing to answer a census question or intentionally giving a false answer, although the penalty has been enforced rarely in the past. Returning a partially filled-out questionnaire may result in a follow-up phone call or visit from a census worker.
What about my privacy? Are census responses confidential?
The U.S. Census Bureau is bound by law to protect your answers and keep them strictly confidential. In fact, every employee takes an oath to protect your personal information for life.
Under current federal law, the bureau cannot share census responses identifying individuals with the public or other federal agencies, including immigration authorities and other law enforcement, until 72 years after the information is collected. The Census Bureau, however, can release anonymized census information about specific demographic groups at a level as detailed as a neighborhood.
The answers you provide are used only to produce statistics. You are kept anonymous: The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify you or anyone else in your home.
Being responsible stewards of your data is not only required by law, it is embedded in Census Bureau culture. Strict policies and statistical safeguards help protect the confidentiality of your information. Before releasing data products, the Census Bureau verifies that they meet its confidentiality standards. The security of Census Bureau systems is a top priority, and their IT infrastructure is designed to defend against and contain cyberthreats. They continually refine their approach to identifying, preventing, detecting, and responding to these threats.
Can my answers be shared with law enforcement or used against me?
NO. The law prevents the Census Bureau from sharing your information with law enforcement. Your answers cannot be used to impact your eligibility for government benefits. Your answers are only used to create statistics about our country. The Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the U.S. Code to protect your personal information and keep it strictly confidential.
To reiterate: It’s safe.
Even though a citizenship question won’t be included, hype around this issue has caused many unauthorized immigrants to be concerned about their safety participating.
The bureau has assured residents that personal data collected cannot be shared with other agencies, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Homeland Security Department, and, before it is published, it is stripped of all personal identifiable information. Census records are kept private for 72 years, after which the National Archives releases them to the public to be used for genealogy.
Can I respond to the census in a language other than English?
While paper forms will only be available in English and Spanish, you can respond online or by phone in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The bureau is also providing video and printed guides in 59 non-English languages, as well as a video in American Sign Language.
How do I apply for a census job?
Applications for the half-million temporary census positions, including door knockers and outreach specialists, must be submitted online. You can find more information on the bureau’s recruitment website.
When will the 2020 census results be released?
The Census Bureau is expected to announce the new population counts by Dec. 31, 2020. That’s the bureau’s deadline for sending to the president numbers for the reapportionment of congressional seats, which goes into effect beginning with the 2022 elections. 2020 census data used for state and local redistricting are set to be released by March 31, 2021. The bureau is planning to release other new census data beginning in spring 2021.
What questions WILL NOT be asked by the Census Bureau?
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.
Verifying census workers
Make sure census workers have a valid ID badge that includes their photo, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date. Census workers also may carry Census Bureau bags and other equipment with the bureau’s logo.
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