2020 Census – Columbia County Has Less Than 50% Response Rate

The 2020 Census counts every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories. The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. The 2020 Census counts the population in the United States and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Each home was sent an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire, which can be completed online, by phone, or by mail. On the site, my2020census.gov, you can view the latest response rates by County. Columbia County’s current rate is just 49.7%, which means roughly half of all homes have filled out the census.

If you live in a home that has not filled out the census yet, please visit my2020census.gov to begin.

The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.

The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

It’s also in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790.