There are now five days left to take the 2020 U.S. Census and only 67.3% of the City of Long Beach has responded back .
Data for the Census is collected every 10 years and is used as a guide to determine the amount of federal funding the state would receive, which go towards schools, roads, health care, food assistance, workforce assistance, emergency planning and response, and other vital, community services.
The data collected also plays a vital role in determining how many seats in the House of Representatives each state receives.
Currently Long Beach has a self-response rate of an average of 67.3% in comparison to 61.8% back in July. The state of CA as a whole has a self-response rate of 68.8% while the national average is 66.3%.
The Self-Response by Census Tract Map highlights the response rates within Long Beach neighborhoods. The data shows that the areas in the wealthier districts such as Lakewood and Los Altos (highlighted in purple), have a higher response rate ranging from 86.2% – 86.9%, than the lower-income areas in the Westside, Northside and Downtown neighborhoods (highlighted in orange) including the Lower Westside, Washington, Wilmore, and De Forest areas, who have a response rate ranging from 18.6% – 50.7%.
Both citizens and non-citizens are encouraged to do the questionnaire as the information is kept private. Currently there are three ways the Census can be completed: online, by phone and through mail.
The questionnaire asks simple queries such as one’s address, household information, and takes around 10 minutes to complete. One individual can complete the Census to account for the rest of their household members including children, infants, grandparents, siblings, roommates or anyone who was living in the same household on April 1, 2020.
To preview exactly what questions will be asked, click here. There are no citizenship questions in The Census.
The Census has to be completed in one sitting or else the page will time out, resulting in having to start the questionnaire all over.
To complete the Census online, visit my2020census.gov. To complete the Census over the phone in English, call 844-330-2020. It’s also available in various languages including Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, French and more.
