Berkeley: As Cal Students Return, Remember To Get Counted In The Census

Press release from the City of Berkeley:

August 20, 2020

Berkeley, California (Thursday, August 20, 2020) - With only 40 days remaining to fill out the 2020 Census, college students should make sure they’ve been counted correctly - and respond online if they haven’t.

The Census is a once-a-decade tally of all the people in Berkeley, including students. Results are then used to allocate money for support services in health care, disaster response, affordable housing, schools, roads, and public transit.

Complete Census online at my2020census.gov. It takes less than 10 minutes.

College students count where they lived before COVID-19

College students should be counted on the Census where they lived before school closed last year. This Census Bureau guideline helps get an accurate student count, which is critical not only for the next decade of federal funding for Berkeley but also to help the City plan for the infrastructure needed to support our students.

If you moved from off campus housing, you should list roommates who had been living with you on your response. Your parents should not count you on their response unless you lived at home prior to the pandemic.

Dorms and residence halls

Students who would have been living in college dorms or other university housing have been counted through their university.

Off-campus housing

Students who were living in off campus, non-university housing last spring need to respond to the Census themselves. Count everyone living in your home on your response, including roommates.

If you think you were counted incorrectly, respond again

If your parents already included you in their response even though you did not previously live with them, simply fill out a new response online – the Census will correct the duplication. Similarly, if you’re not sure whether your former roommates have already responded to the Census, you should still respond and list everyone in who was living in your household.

It is better to be accidentally counted twice than to not be counted at all. The Census Bureau has a process to identify and correct duplicate responses.

Why the Census matters

The US Census determines how federal funds are distributed. Each person who gets counted brings back an estimated average of $1,000 per year in funding for critical services and infrastructure. For every person that goes uncounted, local communities lose $10,000 over the next decade.

Census results also determine state and federal representation. Failing to count everyone could cost California a seat in Congress.

Locally, Census data is used to plan bus routes, draw our Council District boundaries, and locate community services. Businesses use Census numbers to decide where to open a store or locate their office.

If you haven’t done so yet, complete the 2020 Census today. If you have, please remind your friends and classmates to get counted.

Keep up with City of Berkeley news via our News page, email or Follow @CityofBerkeley .

This press release was produced by the City of Berkeley. The views expressed here are the author’s own.