
HARRIS COUNTY – Since 1790, as mandated by the Constitution, Americans have come together every 10 years to be counted. This record of every person residing in the United States is important as it provides the basis for the reapportionment of congressional seats, redistricting, and distribution of over $675 billion in vital annual federal funds to support state, county and community programs across the country. For perspective, it’s estimated that our community lost millions of federal funding because of undercounting. This is important for residents of Harris County. In 2020, let’s make sure everyone counts!
CENSUS 101
By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invitation to participate in Census 2020. There will be four options to complete: By phone, by mail, in person and, for the first time, online. Respondents will also have the opportunity to complete the census on their mobile device.
YES! TO CENSUS 2020
To ensure we are not overlooked, the City of Houston and Harris County have created the YES! TO CENSUS 2020 campaign, a local initiative inviting families, friends and neighbors to show pride in our communities by responding to the census.
HOW THE CENSUS BENEFITS OUR COMMUNITY
Federal funds, grants and support to states, counties and communities are based on accurate census statistics like population totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race and other factors. Our community benefits when we have more clinics, better schools, safe roads, and an expanding workforce. High-quality census data gives community leaders important information needed to make decisions about building community centers, opening businesses, and planning for the future. Standing up and being counted is an important way for individuals to impact where money to build and improve infrastructure is allocated across the U.S. This information is also critical to local disaster and emergency preparedness funding. (more…)