Email this page  Print this page

Things you need to know about the U.S. Census

Make sure to get counted – because we all count

(page 1 of 2)

1. How it’s done

The first official census was conducted in 1790 under Thomas Jefferson, who was then secretary of state. That census, taken by U.S. marshals on horseback, counted 3.9 million inhabitants.

Fast forward to 2010 and the census is expected to count some 310 million individuals. How do all the people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and America Samoa get counted?

To prepare for this task, the U.S Census Bureau canvassed the country between April and July 2009 to update addresses and maps from the previous census. Using the captured data, census questionnaires are mailed or delivered to 130 million households during February and March.  The form – one of the shortest census forms in history – asks 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete and return by mail in the supplied postage-paid envelope.

Also in March, the “Be Counted Program” is implemented, which makes census questionnaires available at select public sites for individuals who did not receive one by mail.

Census Day is April 1; forms should be completed and returned by that date. From late April thru July, census workers visit addresses that did not return a questionnaire by mail.

2. What’s at stake

Government funding

The 2010 Census will help communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year for things like hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, bridges, tunnels and other public-works projects and emergency services. That’s more than $4 trillion over a 10-year period to fund important services and infrastructures our communities rely on.

Over the past months we have heard about municipalities, counties, and the state working hard to balance budgets, and about the elimination of some programs and reduced service hours in an effort to deal with budget deficits. This helps us put in perspective the importance of the census.Arizona will receive an average of $1,500 annually per person counted on the 2010 Census.

It’s easy to do the math. By making sure we all get counted, we are making sure our communities receive their fair share of state and federal funding.

“It’s especially important to our city that we count every single person,” says Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski.  “Every person we miss costs the city $400 a year. So if we miss a family of four, that’s $1,600 a year for 10 years.”

Representation in Congress

Another reason to participate and make ourselves count is that states can gain or lose representation in Congress based on population counts. In this process, known as apportionment, the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are divided among the 50 states.

As a result of the 2000 census, Arizona gained two seats in the House of Representatives for a total of 8. In addition to Arizona, three other states (Texas, Georgia and Florida) also gained two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2000 Census, while New York and Pennsylvania each lost two seats. In fact, Arizona has gained representation in Congress as a result of the apportionment population count from each decennial census since 1950. Our state had two seats in the House of Representatives in 1950, three seats in 1960, four seats in 1970, five seats in 1980, six seats in 1990, and eight seats in 2000.

The Census Bureau will provide the 2010 apportionment counts to President Obama by December 31, 2010. This includes the total population counts and the number of congressional representatives for each state.