Every 10 years, the United States conducts a “decennial Census,” as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The goal of the Census is to count every person who lives in the country.

The Census directly impacts the funding your city or town will receive over the next decade

The federal government uses U.S. Census data to help decide where money should go. Over $600 billion per year is distributed to communities across the U.S. based on Census data. While many financial assistance programs and block grants, like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), are distributed to cities based on American Community Survey (ACS) statistics, the benchmark for all ACS data is the U.S. Census.

An accurate Census helps ensure fair representation at all levels of government

The primary constitutional purpose for the decennial Census is to determine how many congressional representatives each state will have for the next decade and to ensure equal representation in the redistricting process. Based on 2010 Census data, Washington State’s population grew 14.1% from 2000. With that growth, Washington earned an additional (10th) seat in Congress.

AWC Census landing page

Because the Census is so critical for Washington’s cities and towns, AWC has developed a 2020 Census landing page to provide cities with information, resources, recommendations, and tools to help ensure that everyone in their community is counted. We encourage cities and towns that have not yet engaged to check out our landing page and get involved with the 2020 Census efforts in your community.

Tell us: What is your city doing for the 2020 Census?

AWC supports a complete count for the upcoming 2020 Census and we are interested to know how individual cities are supporting the effort. Perhaps you've put a notice in a newsletter, shared something on social media, or are participating in a Complete Count Committee. Whether large or small, we would like to hear about your efforts. Take this short survey to let us know.