What is the purpose of the Census?
The 2010 Census will help communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year for things like:
- Hospitals
- Job training centers
- Schools
- Senior centers
- Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
- Emergency services
The data collected by the census also help determine the number of seats your state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.
We can't move forward until you mail it back.
In March of 2010, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. An estimated 1.8 million forms will be sent to South Carolina addresses. When you receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you don't mail the form back, you may receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the questions from the form.
The majority of the country will receive English–only materials. Households in areas with high concentrations of Spanish-speaking residents may receive a bilingual (English/Spanish) form.
Any personal data you provide is protected under federal law.
Why the Census Matters to South Carolina
Every year $400 billion in federal aid is distributed based on census data. The more people a state has, the bigger share it gets. In 2007 alone, South Carolina missed out on at least $60 million in federal aid because an estimated 48,335 people went uncounted during the 2000 census. Some experts believe the number of people missed was many times higher, meaning the financial impact would be far larger.
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Census numbers are used to fund important programs like road construction, vocational education, college scholarships, health care, aid to crime victims and programs to grow small businesses.
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Census data are used to assign seats in Congress. South Carolina is believed to be close to gaining enough population to add a seventh seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. South Carolina lost its seventh seat after the 1930 census.
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Within South Carolina, census counts are used to draw state House and Senate districts and to draw voting districts for municipal and county governments.
What Is Being Done to Improve South Carolina’s Census Count?
South Carolina counties and cities, including North Augusta, participated in the Local Update of Census Address program (LUCA) which allowed updates to the list of addresses that the U.S. Census Bureau will use to deliver questionnaires. The program added more than 150,000 addresses to the master address file.
Local governments also participate in the annual Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) which gives federal officials accurate information about municipal and other local boundaries. That helps ensure that people are counted in the right place.
The S.C. Budget and Control Board’s Office of Research and Statistics is the lead agency in coordinating South Carolina’s census effort. The office is working with local and federal officials to increase awareness of the importance of the census.
Facts About South Carolina
In 2000, South Carolina’s 58 percent census form mail response rate was the second lowest in the nation. The national rate was 67 percent.
In 2007, South Carolina received $5.4 billion in federal aid that was distributed via census-driven formulas.
To Learn More
South Carolina Census website: www.census.sc.gov
South Carolina Census 2010 on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SCCensus2010
South Carolina Census 2010 on Facebook: South Carolina Census 2010
When we all answer the Census, our needs are heard.