It Only Takes 10 Minutes to Respond to the 2020 Census: Here’s Why You Should Do It Now
Put your physically distant time to good use—fill out the 2020 Census.
Between managing social distancing, putting new time and attention (and worry) into grocery shopping, and figuring out how to help others during coronavirus, there’s likely a lot on your mind right now. It’s to be expected that certain chores or events—your old friend’s birthday, for example, or washing your hair—fall by the wayside. After all, it’s happening to people around the world. But there’s one to-do you absolutely should put at the top of your list the next time you take a break from your new quarantine hobbies: responding to the 2020 Census.
The census takes place every 10 years to count every person living in the United States. The information produced by the census determines statistical information about U.S. residents and determines how federal funding is distributed. Census data guides the disbursement of more than $675 billion, so it’s a pretty big deal.
Think of it this way: It’s a once-every-10-years occasion for communities, cities, regions, and states to receive a certain portion of federal funding proportionate to their populations. Areas with larger populations get more funding, so it’s important that census data accurately reflect the population of a given community.
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The census operates mainly on self-reporting: You are required by law to provide answers about yourself and members of your household. Fortunately, the 2020 Census makes it incredibly easy to respond. (Truly, it takes about 10 minutes and can be done online or over the phone right now.)
In mid-March, the Census Bureau sent out official mail with detailed instructions for responding to the census to U.S. households. In years past, census takers have visited homes later in the year for responses from those who have not already responded, but in-person interviews have been adapted or postponed in cooperation with federal, state, and local social distancing guidelines.
Even with the coronavirus pandemic, though, 2020 Census data must be collected. The self-response phase—in which households can respond online, over the phone, or by mail, though online responses are strongly encouraged—has been extended until August 14, so anyone can go to the My 2020 Census website to fill out responses for themselves and their household until then.
Filling out your census response is impossibly easy online: Simply visit the website and enter your Census ID, supplied on materials mailed to you or left at your door. (If you never received an ID or lost it, it’s still possible to complete the census—simply click the option that says “If you do not have a Census ID, click here.”)
The online questionnaire will ask simple, noninvasive questions about your household as of April 1. (April 1 is Census Day.) April 1 is the marker for when households are counted in the eyes of the Census Bureau: If a family member or roommate moved out of your household before April 1, you would not count them as part of your household in your census response.
Next, the questionnaire asks demographical questions about the members of your household. These questions do not include a citizenship question and focus on racial demographics: Every U.S. resident should respond honestly, regardless of citizenship status. All U.S. residents and residents of U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are required to be counted in the census. The questionnaire then asks about household relationships—and that’s it. (If you’re concerned or curious about the 2020 Census questions, you can see them here.) All answers are confidential.
From beginning to end, the questionnaire takes just a few minutes and asks for information you likely already know. It’s a short time-suck that determines an enormous amount of federal funding—and, again, is required by law.
The 2020 Census will continue through much of 2020, but responding now means in-person census takers will not have to visit your household later in the year. The national self-response rate is currently at 44.5 percent, so there’s a lot of room for improvement—and plenty of physically distant time for household heads to respond.
