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Your participation in the U.S. census benefits your community, whether you live with family, receive in-home care, or reside in a senior living community or home.
This population count determines the federal support Pennsylvanians receive through programs like Medicaid, Medicare Part B, nutrition services, SNAP, and more.
The U.S. Constitution requires a census of all residents in the entire country every 10 years. The census counts every person living in the U.S. once in the right place based on where you are living April 1, 2020.
You might be living in an apartment, house, or group housing situation, or you might be experiencing homelessness. Regardless of your living situation, citizenship status, age, or gender, you count as a Pennsylvanian.
April 1, 2020, is National Census Day. By this date, every home will have received their invitation to participate in the 2020 census. You will have three options for responding: online, by phone, or by mail. Responding to the census should take only a few minutes.
Fair Representation
Neighborhoods change over time, and the census makes note of these demographic changes and reports the statistics.
This information is then used to determine how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pennsylvania currently has 18 congressional representatives; the commonwealth used to have 19 but lost a seat after the 2010 census.
Additionally, state officials use the statistics produced by the decennial census to redraw U.S. congressional and state legislative districts.
Federal Spending and Programs
Census data are used to decide how $675 billion in federal public funding is spent every year. Pennsylvania gets $26.8 billion annually through its 16 largest federally funded programs, averaging out to about $2,000 per Pennsylvanian per year.
These numbers may change based on 2020 census data. Federal funding supports many programs and services for Pennsylvanians, including in healthcare, food security, education, transportation, housing, community development, support for families, and more.
Data Privacy and Security
The information you provide as part of the census can never be used against you; it’s the law. Under Title 13 of the U.S. Code, the U.S. Census Bureau cannot release any information about you or others in your household. Your census answers can only be used to produce statistics.
Census employees and contractors are sworn for life to always protect your information. Violators face fines up to $250,000 and up to five years in prison.
The U.S. Census Bureau has a team of cybersecurity experts monitoring and protecting the bureau and your data. The bureau is legally required to keep all census data secure. To do so, the bureau works with the federal intelligence cybersecurity community and industry experts to keep all data locked down.
The bureau’s cybersecurity meets the highest federal standards for system protection. Your data are protected no matter if you respond online, by phone, or by mail.
If a census worker helps you fill out your census form in person, the technology they’re using meets the same federal security standards.
Additionally, there is no citizenship question on the 2020 census.
Scammers and Fraud
The Census Bureau will never ask you for your Social Security number, money or donations, anything on behalf of a political party, or your bank or credit card account numbers.
If someone claiming to be from the Census Bureau contacts you via email or phone and asks you for one of these pieces of information, it’s a scam, and you should not cooperate.
Report them via email to rumors@census.gov or speak with a local Census Bureau representative at (800) 923-8282.