Although it seems far away it’s not too early to start thinking about the next U.S. Census in 2030. The Census Bureau has already started the process for gathering feedback for the 2030 census and local leaders can engage in this process now to ensure future federal funding is flowing to their community in an accurate and accountable way.
In August, the Census Bureau announced it would gather comments from invested stakeholders, such as NLC and local governments. As part of the planning efforts, NLC is gathering comments through the form below to hear how you think the Census Bureau should reshape and improve the 2030 Census. The comments NLC receives will inform the final comment letter we file with the U.S. Census Bureau.
NLC is collecting feedback on the following matters:
- Reaching and motivating everyone. Everybody counts in the census. The Census Bureau is committed to addressing challenges that may have contributed in the past to the recurring undercount of several communities. These include the Hispanic or Latino population, African American population, American Indian and Native Alaskan populations, people who reported being of some other race and young children. With the public’s assistance, the Census Bureau aims to better understand how to reverse this trend, more effectively reaching these populations and motivating everyone to respond to the 2030 Census.
- Technology. The Census Bureau seeks input on what technological advancements could be made to ensure that completing the census is more user-friendly. Additionally, through the use of technology, the census could see an increase in the percentage of people who respond on their own and provide greater ease to collecting data in person when necessary.
- Contacting the public. Plans for the 2030 Census must include tailored contact strategies that maximize the number of households responding on their own. The Census Bureau is seeking recommendations about tools, messages and outreach to use when inviting people to respond. The Bureau also asks for feedback in defining how often outreach should be done to each household.
- Providing support to the public. The Census Bureau asks for input on how to support people as they respond – whether online, by phone, by mail, in English or in another language – and ideas for how to improve access for people with disabilities.
The importance of an accurate census is immense. The distribution of $1.5 trillion dollars in federal funds are determined by figures from the decennial census results, so it is important to achieve an accurate count to make sure local governments are getting a fair and proper allocation. Additionally, census results have extreme relevance to local communities. The data from the decennial census provides a snapshot of demographic information and trend data, which serves as the basis for important local government decision-making in matters such as redistricting, community planning, and the timing and placement of future infrastructure investments.
Please fill out the form below to help inform NLC’s comments to the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure every city, town and village gets their share of federal funds and accurate data, and every resident can respond to the 2030 census.
Let Us Know
Submit feedback here.
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