The 2020 Census

Because YOU Count!

April 1, 2020 was Census Day for this year’s census. However, there is still time to respond. Due to COVID-19, the Census Bureau has extended the deadline to respond to October 31, 2020.

A complete and accurate 2020 Census helps ensure our communities receive much-needed funding to support critical services. In fact, an inaccurate census means a potential loss of $18,000 per person in the state of Michigan over the next 10 years!

The questionnaire is short and only takes a few minutes to complete. Get started today at 2020census.gov!

Why Complete the 2020 Census?

Federal Funding

This year’s census will help allocate billions of dollars to pay for employment services, emergency response, schools, roads and much more for the next 10 years.

Representation

Census data helps determine congressional districts. A complete census means fair and accurate representation at all levels of government. 

Accurate Data

Economic development, community leaders and businesses use census data to make decisions that impact your community. 

How to Respond?

Online

Responding online is the quickest and easiest way to complete the census. Get started today at 2020Census.gov.

Phone

You can complete the questionnaire by phone. To begin, call 844-330-2020 to respond in English or click here for additional languages.

Mail

Some households received a paper questionnaire in March (and again in April if you hadn’t already responded). To see a sample copy of the paper questionnaire, and for more information, please visit the Census Bureau’s Questions Asked page.

Census Frequently Asked Questions

What questions are on the census?

The 2020 Census gathers basic demographic data about each person living or staying at each address in the U.S. For each person, the census requests their name, sex, age, date of birth, relationship, Hispanic origin and race. The census also asked whether the housing unit is owned or rented.

The census does NOT ask about citizenship.

How is census data used?

The data gathered by the census serves the three main purposes listed above:

  • Allocation of billions of dollars in federal funds for over 130 programs, such as schools, health care, roads, emergency response, childcare, employment services and more!
  • Setting congressional districts to help ensure fair representation of the people in government.
  • Providing important data about communities that is used for economic development, city planning and more.

The census is not used to identify those who are not citizens or to provide personal information to other government agencies. In fact, your information is protected by law and is completely confidential. The U.S. Census Bureau can only use your responses to produce statistics. 

Should non-U.S. citizens respond?

Yes. The census is supposed to count everyone living in the United States and its five territories. Citizens of foreign countries who are temporarily visiting the United States on vacation or business should not be counted.

The census is not used to identify those who are not citizens or to provide personal information to other government agencies. In fact, your information is protected by law and is completely confidential. The U.S. Census Bureau can only use your responses to produce statistics. 

What about college students, foster children, shared custody, multiple residences or other unique situations?

Individuals should be counted where they reside the majority of the year. If you have questions about who to count and where to count them, visit the Census Bureau’s Who You Count page.