Why the Census matters?
Next year, residents of Orange County will be asked to participate in the 2020 Census. It is important for all residents to complete the census, because the framers of the Constitution of the United States chose population to be the basis for sharing political power, not wealth or land.
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers…”
- The Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 2.
The census asks questions of people in homes and group living situations, including how many people live or stay in each home, and the sex, age and race of each person. The data collected determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives (a process called apportionment). Federal funds, grants and support to states, counties and communities are based on population totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race and other factors.
Your community benefits the most when the census counts everyone. Responding to the census helps your community get its fair share of more than $675 billion per year in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs.
Businesses use census data to decide where to build factories, offices and stores, and this creates jobs. Developers use the census to build new homes and revitalize old neighborhoods. Local governments use the census for public safety and emergency preparedness. Residents use the census to support community initiatives involving legislation, quality-of-life and consumer advocacy.
The census will require counting an increasingly diverse and growing population of around 330 million people in more than 140 million housing units. The goal is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place.
For more information about the census, please visit census.gov.