April 1 is Census Day, the day the U.S. Census Bureau asks everyone living or staying in the United States or its territories to respond to the 2020 Census.
Completing the 2020 Census is vital to ensure complete and accurate information.
The current pandemic demonstrates the importance of an accurate count of all Minnesotans so that Minnesota gets its fair share of emergency response funding, health care, education and more.
How census data is used:
- Funding - Census data guides federal spending allocation of more than $675 billion to local communities every year - federal funding for job training, transportation, education, food support, health care and other community needs.
- Planning - Census data helps federal, state and local governments decide where to invest in transportation, schools, hospitals, senior centers, emergency services and other needs to best serve every community.
- Businesses - Census data assists businesses in making decisions about where to invest in the community including locating businesses, factories and stores, recruiting employees and conducting market research.
- Representation - Census data determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as districts for state government. Minnesota is at risk of losing a congressional seat.
Residents can visit my2020census.gov and complete the census online. That webpage links to the census form in 13 languages. If a person prefers to answer the census on the phone, they can call 1-844-330-2020 for assistance in English or 1-844-468-2020 for assistance in Spanish. Information is available in 59 languages is available at 2020census.gov/en/languages.
A person can also wait for a paper census form that will be mailed to any household that has not completed the census online or on the phone by mid-April.