Census Day is next Wednesday, April 1, and United States residents may receive multiple mailings from the Census Bureau in March and April of this year, including an invitation to respond to the 2020 Census and follow-up postcards and letters.
Those who do not respond online or by phone, may also receive a paper questionnaire.
Results of the 2020 Census will help determine how $675 billion in federal funding are distributed to communities every year for the next ten years. It will also help determine the reapportion of the United States House of Representatives, redistricting and more.
Census officials call for residents to think of their daily commute and recognize that census results will influence highway planning and construction, as well as grants for buses, subways, and other public transit systems.
When it comes to education, it also determines how money is allocated for the Head Start program and for grants that support teachers and special education.
Local non-profit organizations will also use census data to help secure federal funds for their locally important operations.
Census officials say it is easier than ever to respond to the census, whether online, by mail or by phone.
When responding online to the 2020 Census, residents will be prompted to enter their unique Census ID. According to census officials, this ID number acts like a PIN and can be found on the Census Bureau invitation to respond. All Census IDs have 12 characters (letters and numbers).
The census questionnaire will ask questions regarding everyone who is living and sleeping in the home, most of the year, as of April 1, 2020. This includes young children, foster children, roommates, and any family members or friends who are living with you, even temporarily.
If the Census Bureau does not receive a response from a home, they will send census takers to individual homes throughout May and July.
Currently, the planned census completion date is July 31, 2020.