Stand Up And Be Counted In Laguna Beach: Census Replies Sought

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — The U.S. Census forms may be laying on your kitchen counter, or perhaps along with a stack of bills in your office. It's time to take a few minutes and respond to the U.S. Census in Laguna Beach, the bureau says.

Nationwide and in California as a whole, responses to the 2020 Census are on track, as more than 62 percent of households have responded online or by phone, or by mail if they received a paper questionnaire in the mail or on their doorstep.

However, it is vitally important that everyone be counted.

"Results from the 2020 Census inform planning and funding decisions for such critical public services, emergency and disaster response, and schools and education programs," a spokesperson from the U.S. Census wrote in recent release.

The census results will shape decisions about how billions of dollars in federal funds flow into communities each year for the next decade.

As of July 29 only 60.2 percent of Laguna Beach residents have responded.

Laguna Beach's census ranking is 371st out of California’s 482 incorporated cities.

For every one person who does not respond, the California Department of Finance estimates that state and local governments will lose out on $1,000 a year in federal funding tied to population for the next 10 years, the Census Bureau reports.

Now more than ever, your response to the 2020 Census matters. Responding is easier than ever. For the first time this year, you can respond online. And the census asks just a few questions and takes only a few minutes to respond.

Making it even easier, the Census Bureau is now sending emails to households in low-response neighborhoods to urge them to respond. If you receive one of these messages from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov and haven’t yet responded, please click on the link to do so.

If you haven’t responded, please do so as soon as possible, they say.

"Urge your family, friends, and neighbors to respond, too," the U.S. Census Bureau says. "It’s easy, safe and important."

For more information, visit 2020census.gov