Fill out your census form

19 March 2010

You should have received your 2010 Census form in the mail this week, if you’re in the U.S. I know this isn’t organizing-related, but it’s important. Please fill it out.

The census provides vital data that allows for allocation of sets in the House of Representatives and also for government resources. The Census Bureau is committed to making sure every resident is counted. If you don’t fill out the form, they’ll send an enumerator to your home to count you. And that’s expensive. It costs the government 42 cents if you mail back the form. It costs the government $25 if an enumerator is sent to your home. (I got that little tidbit through a google search that landed me on this little FAQ.)

My first real job out of college was at the Population Reference Bureau, a non-profit clearinghouse for demographic information. We used census data constantly and I developed a real appreciation for the importance of the census. Now that I dabble in genealogical research, I see the value of the census for generations to come.

When my form arrived on Monday, I filled it out immediately. There were only ten questions for each person in the home (actually maybe fewer for the second person in the home) and it took just a few minutes. I was a little disappointed that something so important didn’t take longer, but that’s not a reasonable complaint.

I saw a news story the other night about how some census forms are addressed to the wrong city, since some zip codes cross city lines. (This is a problem here in St. Louis where there are many, many municipalities.) The news story quoted the Census Bureau as saying that the city on the form doesn’t matter; it’s the street address, zip code and, most importantly, the bar code on your form that makes sure you’re counted. So if your city name is wrong, you can ignore the error.

If you have any trouble filling out your phone, all you have to do is pick up the phone. The contact information is available on the Census Bureau’s website.

Tagged with: census

Comments

we got 2 forms and fllled the wrong one.theres a back room and no one lives there.
do i leave it like that or i correct it my self and return it
like that,i filled the one on back and i leave in front.

isabel March 25, 2010 03:21 PM

Isabel, I ran your question by someone I know who’s working with the census bureau. If you haven’t yet mailed the form you wrongly filled out, just throw it away and fill out and send in the right form. If you have mailed it, don’t worry about it. In either case, an enumerator will probably come to your home to check out the fact that one of the forms wasn’t filled out. You can explain the situation then. Thanks for your comment!

Janine Adams March 26, 2010 01:25 PM