2010 Census Safety Tips

The 2010 Census questionnaire is different from the long form many of us may remember. This year’s form only asks 10 questions and should take about 10 minutes to complete. Census data is used to reapportion congressional seats to states and directly affect how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state and local governments.

 As collection activities begin, please keep the following tips in mind: 

 1. The Census Bureau does not conduct the 2010 Census via the Internet.
2. The Census Bureau does not send e-mail about participating in the 2010 Census.
3. The Census Bureau will never:

a. Ask for your full social security number
b. Ask for money or a donation
c. Send requests on behalf of a political party
d. Request pin codes, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.   

The 2010 Census asks the following questions:  

1. The number of people living in the residence
2. Any additional people that might be living there as of April 1, 2010
3. Whether the residence is owned or rented
4. Telephone number (in case the Census Bureau has follow-up questions)
5. Name
6. Sex
7. Age and date of birth
8. Whether of Hispanic origin
9. Race
10. Whether that person sometimes lives somewhere else

  Even with these changes to make the census the shortest and easiest in a lifetime, the Census Bureau still projects that it will have to send census takers to an estimated 48 million households that do not respond by mail. While it costs the government just 42 cents for a postage paid envelope when a household mails back the form, it costs $57 to send a census taker door to door to follow up with each household that fails to respond. The Census Bureau estimates that if every household completed and mailed back its census form, taxpayers could reduce the cost of taking the census by $1.5 billion.