Complete census by Sept. 30

Wednesday, Sept. 30, is the last day of the self-response phase of the 2020 Census.

The U.S. Census Bureau said New Mexico’s self-response rate was 57.3 percent as of Sept. 21. That’s almost nine points below the national average of 66.1 percent. Minnesota has the highest response rate at 74.6 percent. Only Alaska and West Virginia had worse self-report rates than New Mexico, according to https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates/nrfu.html.

A University of New Mexico study showed New Mexico with the second-worst response rate in the 2010 Census. If the state undercounts again in 2020, it could result in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the next 10 years. The state will lose about $3,000 a year for every person not counted.

“The 2020 Census will determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding every year, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade,” according to https://2020census.gov/en/census-data.html.

“Federal dollars for sidewalks, Section Eight housing, school lunches, Pell grants -- these are just a few of more than 60 different programs your census count brings us,” said Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima. “Please complete your census today. Our community is counting on you.”

“Nonresponse follow up,” during which census takers will visit the homes of people who haven’t responded, will continue through Saturday, Oct. 31.

The 2020 Census count began Jan. 21, when the Census Bureau started counting people in the rural village of Toksook Bay, Alaska. In mid-March, the bureau mailed information nationwide on how to complete the census online, by phone or by mail. In mid-April it mailed paper questionnaires to homes that had not yet responded online or by phone.

Here is the Census Bureau’s timeline going forward:

Census takers will continue to conduct interview at homes that haven't responded to the 2020 Census through Oct 31.

In December, the Census Bureau will deliver apportionment counts to the president and Congress. By March 31, 2021, the Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to the states. This information is used to redraw legislative districts based on population changes.

Forecasters are already projecting that up to 10 states could lose a U.S. House of Representatives seat as a result of the final 2020 Census count, and seven states – including Texas and Colorado – could gain seats. New Mexico is likely to keep its three seats.

The Census Bureau reported that 132 programs used Census Bureau data to distribute more than $675 billion in funds during FY2015. Recipients included medical, childcare, school lunch, housing, education (including Head Start), food and small business development programs.

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) a nonpartisan independent watchdog (www.pogo.org), said in March that 316 federal programs will distribute $1.5 billion based on 2020 Census results.

POGO said New Mexico received nearly $11 billion in census-guided federal spending in FY2017. The amounts to almost 13.1 percent of personal income, ranking New Mexico fifth nationally.

By law, everyone living in the U.S. and its five territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) is required to be counted in the census.

You can complete the census online at https://my2020census.gov/. If you don’t have Internet access, call 1-844-330-2020 and a form will be mailed to you.

Visit the city website (www.las-cruces.org) and type “census” in the search window to learn more.