Money for schools, hospitals, roads, public works, etc.
Federal funds, grants and support to states, counties and communities are based on population totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race and other factors. Hot Springs will benefit the most when the census counts everyone in our community. When you respond to the census, you will help Hot Springs get its fair share of the more than $675 billion per year in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs.
Businesses use census data to decide where to build factories, offices and stores, and this creates jobs. Developers use the census to build new homes and revitalize old neighborhoods. Local governments use the census for public safety and emergency preparedness. Residents use the census to support community initiatives involving legislation, quality-of-life and consumer advocacy.
Be Counted, for Hot Springs’ Sake
By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. If you are filling out the census for your home, you should count everyone who is living there as of April 1, 2020. This includes any friends or family members who are living and sleeping there most of the time. If someone is staying in your home on April 1, and has no usual home elsewhere, you should count them in your response to the 2020 Census. Please also be sure to count roommates, young children, newborns, and anyone who is renting a space in your home. These people are often missed in the census. This means they can miss out on resources for themselves and their communities over the next 10 years.
It is important to remember to count any children who are living with you. This includes:
- • All children who live in your home, including foster children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and the children of friends (even if they are living with you temporarily).
- • Children who split their time between homes, if they are living with you on April 1, 2020.
- • Newborn babies, even those who are born on April 1, 2020, or who are still in the hospital on this date.
You will have three options for responding:
- • Online.
- • By phone.
- • By mail.
For more information on who to count, visit Who to Count.
Background Information about the U.S. Census
The framers of the Constitution of the United States chose population to be the basis for sharing political power, not wealth or land.
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which
may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers…”
– The Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 2.
A census aims to count the entire population of a country, and at the location where each person usually lives.
The census asks questions of people in homes and group living situations, including how many people live or stay in each home, and the sex, age and race of each person. The goal is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place.
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census to determine the number of people living in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the census in years ending in zero, on Census Day, which is April 1.
The data collected by the decennial census are used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The first U.S. census was in 1790 during the first term of our first president, George Washington. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson led the effort. The population was 3,929,625, and Congress used these results to apportion 105 seats among 15 states.