U.S. Census Counting Slated to Conclude September 30

There is just a week remaining before the official decennial count of the nation’s population is scheduled to end. In the 2020 U.S. Census, Connecticut ranks tied for 9th in the country for number of people counted.

As of Sunday (September 20), 98.3% of the state’s households have been counted, according to census data, with billions of federal dollars over the next decade at stake. State officials have indicated that Connecticut receives $10.7 billion in federal aid per year.

Census statistics are used to inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds are allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers for services and infrastructure like hospitals, emergency response, schools and bridges over the next 10 years.

In Connecticut, 70.1% of households self-responded since the official count began this spring, including 59.8% who responded via the internet. Another 28.2% have responded during the subsequent “non-response follow-up” period, during which census takers have contacted households, mainly by walking through neighborhoods and knocking on doors, beginning in July.

Connecticut’s current overall response rate of 98.3% is slightly higher than the U.S. average of 95.4%. The highest response is in Idaho, at 99.8%; the lowest in the District of Columbia, at 93.9%.

“We’re in the home stretch, and Connecticut residents should urge everyone they know to respond to the census if they haven’t done so already,” said Michelle Riordan-Nold, a member of Connecticut’s Complete Count Committee and Executive Director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData), Connecticut’s lead agency for the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Network.

“Every resident counted today will benefit our state and our communities for the next decade and beyond. Despite the many obstacles this year, Connecticut is within range of achieving one of the most complete counts in the nation. In these final days, we must do everything possible - particularly in historically undercounted communities and cities like Hartford - to count everyone in our state.”

The Census Bureau began sending official census takers to neighborhoods across the state and nation this summer, wearing masks and observing social distancing guidelines, in order to gather household data from those who had yet to respond by mail, by phone or via the internet.

Business decisions, such as where to locate or expand, are also often influenced by data based on census counts, and the data is used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S.

House of Representatives. The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years and a response is required by law.

To respond to the census by phone, individuals should contact (844) 330-2020. Additional information about the 2020 Census is available at www.2020census.gov. Connecticut’s Complete Count Committee website is www.ct.gov/census.

The Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData) is a statewide public-private partnership that advocates for the public availability of open and accessible data. The Connecticut Data Collaborative (www.ctdata.org) is the lead organization for Connecticut in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program and Connecticut’s resource for local census data.

By law, the brief census interviews are confidential, answers cannot be shared with immigration or law enforcement agencies and census takers must keep answers confidential for life. They face stiff fines and jail time if they break that law. There is no citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

During the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will never ask individuals for a Social Security number, bank or credit card account numbers, money or donations, or anything on behalf of a political party. If someone claiming to be from the Census Bureau contacts a person via email or phone and asks for one of these things, it is a scam, and individuals should not cooperate.