Oklahoma City Reminds To Be Counted In The 2020 Census: Deadline Extended To Oct. 5

Press release from the City of Oklahoma City:

October 1, 2020

There are still a few more days to be counted in the 2020 Census and secure the federal funding our community needs to thrive.

The U.S. Census Bureau extended the deadline to complete the 2020 Census by five days to Oct. 5. Everyone by law must be counted.

Go to my2020Census.gov or call (844) 330-2020 to fill out the census survey and be counted. There are multiple languages available with both options.

Be sure to list everyone who was living in your home on April 1, even if they were only temporarily living with you.

Experts estimate each person in Oklahoma City who isn’t counted will cost our community about $17,000 in federal funding over the next 10 years. The funding is tied to education, highways, health care and much more.

Oklahoma City has surged to No. 25 on the list of biggest American cities, underscoring the importance of federal funding needed to keep pace. OKC has grown an estimated 12% since the 2010 census to 655,057 residents, according to Census Bureau data released in May.

Only people who are officially counted in the 2020 Census will be included in the official population statistics the federal government uses to determine our community’s share of federal funding and other important decisions.

About the census

The census is the once-a-decade count of every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. It counts everyone, regardless of citizenship.

Most households in America got information by mail from the Census Bureau about how to respond. If you don’t have a letter, you can still complete the questionnaire at my2020census.gov.

Community services with federal funding tied to the census count include:

• Breakfast and lunch programs for schools
• Medicare and Medicaid
• Transit
• Head Start
• Highways
• Hospitals
• Pell grants

The census also determines congressional representation for each state.

The census questionnaire asks nine simple questions, like how many people were living or staying in your home on April 1, whether a home is owned or rented and the age of everyone in the household. The census will not ask for your social security number, citizenship status, bank accounts or any questions on behalf of a political party.

Learn more about the census in Oklahoma City at okc.gov/census.

Federal law requires the U.S. Census Bureau to keep your responses confidential and protect your data. It also requires everyone to be counted in the census. Visit 2020census.gov for more on the census.

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