Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau counts every living person within the 50 states, 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). The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency.

Each home will receive in mid-March an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire, either online, by phone or by mail. The goal is to have households respond by April 1, which is U.S. Census Day. There will be additional opportunities to respond after this date, and households will receive reminders and, potentially, in-person visits by U.S. Census Bureau field staff if response has not been received by the end of April.

Census questions are short and easy to answer: 1) the number of people living in your home as of April 1, 2020; 2) whether the home is owned or rented; 3) the sex of each person in the home; 4) the age of each person in the home; 5) the race of each person in the home; 6) the number of people in your home, if any, who are of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin; 7) the relationship of each person in your home. All answers are kept confidential.

You will NEVER be asked for your social security number, bank or credit card information, money or donations, or anything on behalf of a political party. You will NOT be asked if you are a U.S. citizen or a legal immigrant.

Census questions can be answered online or over the phone in 13 different languages – English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Filipino and Vietnamese.

The census provides critical data that public officials, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support to people in all communities. Every year, an estimated $600 billion in federal funding go to cities, states, hospitals, schools and other resources based on census data.

The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts. Having an accurate count of the population in our city is important to ensure that residents are fairly represented at all levels of government.