Census
What is the 2020 Census?
The 2020 Census counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. By April 1, 2020 each home will receive an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire—online, by phone, or by mail.
Why is the Count conducted?
The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, 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.
It’s also in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790.
What questions will be asked?
- How many people are living or staying at your home on April 1, 2020
- Whether the home is owned or rented
- Age, sex and race of each person in the home
- Relationship of each person in the home
The Census Bureau will NEVER ask:
- Your Social Security number
- For money or donations
- Anything on behalf of a political party
- Your bank or credit card account numbers
Who is required to respond?
Everyone living in 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) is required by law to be counted in the 2020 Census.
How do college students respond?
- College students who live away from home should be counted at the on- or off-campus residence where they live and sleep most of the time, even if they are at home on April 1, 2020.
- U.S. college students who are living and attending college outside the United States are not counted in the census.
- Foreign students living and attending college in the United States should be counted at the on- or off-campus residence where they live and sleep most of the time.
2020 Census Jobs
The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting to fill hundreds of thousands of temporary positions across the country to assist with the 2020 Census count. You can apply online by clicking here.