It’s not too late to respond to the 2020 census. And it may keep a census worker from coming to your home and knocking on your door later this summer.
The decennial census — conducted once every 10 years — aims to count every person living in the United States. The goal of achieving a complete count is critically important, local officials said. The final numbers will determine how many congressional seats are allotted to each state and how more than $675 billion in federal funds are disbursed to states, counties and cities.
The funding decisions will span the next decade, for public needs such as hospitals, Medicaid, education, school lunches, food stamps, highways, transportation, fire stations, emergency medical services and other programs.
Civic leaders have said an incomplete count could cost Texas millions of dollars in federal funding.
“This affects you, your family and the future of this community for the next 10 years,” said Berta Rodriguez, census administrator for San Antonio. “We really want people to understand that they have an impact. They have a say in the future of our community — our schools, our hospitals, our programming that supports children, that supports the elderly.”
The 2020 census questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete, the U.S. Census Bureau said. That survey asks how many people were living in the household on April 1 and if the residence is a house, apartment or mobile home that is owned or rented by the occupants.
The questionnaire also asks for the household occupants’ names, genders, ages, dates of birth, races and ethnicities. And it inquires how the household occupants are related to each other.
On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio City Council hears plans to push for census responses before door knocking starts
Federal law requires the Census Bureau to keep responses about a specific person or household confidential for 72 years. Only general statistics for a geographic area can be made public.
People can respond online, by phone at 844-330-2020 or by answering paper questionnaires sent through the mail. The deadline to respond, originally July 31, has been pushed back to Oct. 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic. But census officials are strongly encouraging people to respond now.
“It’s easy. It’s important. And it’s vital for everyone to respond,” said Census Bureau spokeswoman Ximena Alvarez.
Current plans call for census workers — wearing full personal protective equipment — to visit non-responsive households starting the second week of August. Those plans may be adjusted to comply with federal, state and local health guidelines if the COVID outbreak gets worse.
San Antonio ranks fourth nationally among U.S. cities of at least 1 million people showing the strongest response rates to the 2020 census. Inside the San Antonio city limits, 58.6 percent of households had responded as of Wednesday, the latest data available.
San Jose and San Diego have the strongest household response rates in the nation among large U.S. cities, at 69.9 percent and 67.8 percent respectively. Phoenix ranks third nationally with a household response rate of 59.7 percent.
Houston and Dallas are lagging behind San Antonio. Dallas’ household response rate stood at 53.4 percent, while Houston’s stood at 52.4 percent as of Wednesday, the latest data available.
On ExpressNews.com: Bexar County’s population becoming more diverse, latest census figures show
In Bexar County, the household response rate stands at 60.3 percent.
Texas ranks 40th among states in its response rates. The Lone Star State is tied with Arkansas, posting a household response rate of 56.6 percent. That accounts for 6.9 million households in Texas.
Across the country, 91.5 million households have completed the 2020 census so far, which amounts to a response rate of 61.9 percent.
The last decennial census in 2010 drew a self-response rate of 66.5 percent nationally by mail. Texas posted a self-response rate of 64.4 percent 10 years ago.
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Alvarez said. “And we hope that the public understands that they’re not just being counted, but it affects them in their daily lives, especially in this (pandemic) situation that we’re facing.”
Hospitals need funding, she noted. “And in order for them to get funds, they depend on the count of the people.”
Peggy O’Hare covers demographics, the census and occasionally crime and general assignment stories in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Peggy, become a subscriber. pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare
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