Why Do We Still Conduct a Costly Census of All U.S. Residents Every Ten Years?

Who hasn’t heard that the 2020 Census is upon us? The anticipation and anguish about missing large numbers of persons (again!) is in the news and on social media daily. The Census Bureau is posting daily news releases. Public officials and nonprofit leaders are rallying to get the word out about the importance of the decennial Census. Last year we saw widespread political opposition to the Trump administration’s attempt to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census form because opponents argued it would decrease participation within the Hispanic community.

The case for accurate data about all U.S. residents has been made by many – it is needed for redistricting political boundaries; for accurate allocation of federal, state and local funds; for planning of infrastructure projects; for budgeting public services, for better marketing studies by the business community; and many others. But it is costly, estimated at over $15.6 billion by the U.S. Government Accounting Office, up from $12.3 billion for the 2010 Census.