Census 2020: Why It Matters & What’s New

Just 3 days ago, the United States Census Bureau designated the National Association of REALTORS® as a National Partner for the upcoming 2020 Census. While you no doubt know by now that a new decade means a new national headcount, you may not know exactly why it matters or what to expect this year. That’s where we come in!

As Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham explains, “The 2020 Census is your census, and its success depends on you. It’s a once-in-a-decade chance to inform how billions of dollars in funding are allocated for critical public services like hospitals and health care clinics, schools and education programs, roads and bridges, and emergency response for the next 10 years.”

What’s New:

For the first-time ever, every household will have the option of responding online. Because this method is likely to be the most popular response format, the US Postal Service will stagger the delivery of 2020 Census invitations to try to spread out the number of online users responding.

While 95% of households will receive their census invitation in the mail, 5% of households will receive their invitation to participate from a census field worker who will be equipped with a mobile phone app.

In addition, census marketing has increased while the number of field workers has decreased. (Data and images courtesy of The Washington Post.)

Last But Not Least:

- While you will receive an invitation to participate, completion of your 2020 Census data is constitutionally mandated. Think required homework, not extra credit.

- The 2020 Census requires that a handful of questions be answered by every person in the home and should take less than 10 minutes.

- The most controversial component of the 2020 Census is the reinstatement of the citizenship question "Is this person a citizen of the United States?", which the current administration states is needed to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

- This costly effort is set to approach a record spending of $16 billion for completion and at its peak – employs half a million people!

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