2020 Census

The census is a count of every person who lives in the US and its territories, and it happens every 10 years. In 2020 every household in America will receive a notice to complete the census online, by phone, or by mail to count everyone who lives in your home as of April 1, 2020.

All responses will inform where funding is distributed each year to communities nationwide for clinics, schools, roads and more.  In 2016 $4.1 billion of federal funding was allocated to Maine based on census data.  Each person not counted is a loss of $15,000-$20,000 of federal funds lost to Maine over the course of 10 years.  Children under the age of 5 are the group most commonly undercounted.

Health care providers have a unique opportunity to remind their patients about the importance of the census.

Responses to the 2020 Census are safe, secure, protected by federal law, and answers can only be used to produce statistics.  For more information, visit 2020CENSUS.GOV.