What people do and don’t know about the Census

Right now, census workers are knocking on doors and verifying addresses of houses, apartments, shelters and other residences in preparation for the census which will take place April 1, 2020. But what do most people know about the census?

Video by Angelica Miranda/AZEdNews and edited by Brooke Razo/AZEdNews: What people do and don’t know about the Census

Census results are used to determine each state’s portion of the more than $675 billion in federal funds distributed each year as well as the number of seats for each state in the U.S. House of Representatives and are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

Population numbers from the census are used to allocate dollars to states, counties, communities and schools that fund critical programs and services for public safety, education, housing, transportation, veterans’ services and social services.

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The questionnaire asks for each person’s name, age and birthdate to make sure that each person is only counted once, and to help agencies allocate government funding for programs and services that support specific age groups, according to the 2020Census.gov website.