Departments

Dunwoody Counts: 2020 Census

By now you have received your invitation to complete the 2020 Census. For the first time ever, citizens will be able to complete the confidential questionnaire online via the identification code sent to each household in mid-March. Telephone and mail-in options are also available.

10 Questions that take 10 minutes that impact 10 years of federal funding

Here's where to go to respond to the 2020 Census.

The United States mandates a regular census – an enumeration of its population – in Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution. Managed under Thomas Jefferson—then Secretary of State—the first census was taken in 1790 and has been a part of history each decade since.

The most direct result of census findings is the apportionment of the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Results of the 2020 Census population counts will determine the number of representatives granted to each state. Redistricting counts for the coming decade will be reported on March 31, 2021.

But there’s much more. Census data is the key to forecasting transportation needs, planning for schools and housing, as well as hospitals, nursing homes, public safety and religious congregations. For these programs and services, billions of dollars in federal and state funds are distributed to communities based on their population needs – determined directly from the census count.