What is the Census?

A constitutionally required ten-year count to produce statistics of all people, young and old, living in the US regardless of citizenship.

It’s important for:

• $13+ billion in federal funding for schools, emergency services, roads/transportation, hospitals, health clinics, public works, food stamps and more
• A voice in government – Boundaries for voting areas and House of Representative seats
• Informing decisions by governments, businesses and nonprofits

It’s Easy – 10 Questions/10 Minutes

• Number of people living or staying in your home on April 1, 2020
• Plus basic information like name, sex, age, date of birth, and race
• Only ONE census form per household.

It’s Safe – 100% Confidential
The law guarantees your personal information and answers cannot be used against you by any government agency and cannot be shared with ICE, FBI, CIA, welfare or the Department of Homeland Security.

It’s Not Personal
The census does not ask for social security numbers, personal identifiers or citizenship.

Complete The Census Now

Questions about how to respond or who to count? The Census 2020 website has the answer!

The Aspen to Parachute Complete Count website has a great FAQs section for common living situations in the valley.
 
Special information for College Students
Special arrangements are being made for counting college students who are away from campus these last few months due to COVID-19:

• College students who were living on-campus will still be counted by their college as part of the Group Quarters Enumeration. 

College students who were/still are living off-campus can enter their college address when completing the Census form, regardless of where they are currently living.
 

Why should I fill out the 2020 Census? 

The easiest way to explain why you should do the Census: Money & Power

Yes, that is a bit of an oversimplification, but let’s put it this way: 

Money (for our community)

Colorado loses $2,300 per person, per year ($23,000 in the next decade) in federal funds for every person who isn’t counted. For every 44 people NOT counted, our valley could lose out on over a MILLION DOLLARS in federal funding. That money is used to provide public services – schools, emergency services, roads and transportation, health clinics, food and financial support for those in need, Medicaid, CHIP, foods stamps, public works and more.

Currently, census data provides $13+ billion a year in federal funds to the state. This includes
funding for RFTA, help after a wildfire, unemployment insurance, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grants, assistance to firefighters, several different program for rural communities and senior services. These are critical to the healthy, safety and success of our community, especially in these challenging times.

Power (of the vote)

Census data is used to determine the number of representatives Colorado is allowed to elect to serve the state in Congress. This year’s data will likely result in another seat in Congress for Colorado. The data is also impacts voting district boundaries.