Census 2020
Census advocates stress importance of 2020 count
State and local officials stress the importance of the 2020 Census to Norwich and southeastern Connecticut.
Your Voice: CENSUS 2020
The decennial census is used to determine funding for highway construction, Pell grants, Head Start, Title 1 grants to local schools, SNAP benefits, Section 8 housing and much more.
Access to federal dollars is already a concern for Connecticut, which the Rockefeller Institute of Government says receives back only 74 cents for every dollar residents pay in federal taxes – the worst in the country. State officials say Connecticut will lose an estimated $2,900 for each person undercounted in the 2020 Census.
From March 12-20, households will begin receiving information on how to respond to the census by phone or by mail, or for the first time, online. From May to July, census workers will begin visiting homes that haven't responded.
GALLERIES: Census 2020
New London census responses lag behind state average
New London makes a renewed push and urges residents to fill out census information.
Connecticut’s redistricting could be squeezed by COVID-19
Connecticut is one of 15 states certain to miss deadlines for drawing new legislative districts unless the U.S. Census Bureau reconsiders a four-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Conference of State Legislatures said.
Bysiewicz says more than half the people in the region have responded to census
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Monday that Connecticut – and specifically southeastern Connecticut – is doing better than its neighbors when it comes to census responses, but there’s still more work to do.
New London County's census response rate is 55%, above state overall
Published April 24, 2020
In New London County, 55% of households have responded to the census, but work remains, officials say.
COVID-19 causes changes in census planning
Connecticut is ahead of national figures on census completion rates so far, and the more people do it online, the less time census workers have to spend going door-to-door.
MORE STORIES: Census 2020
VIDEO: What you need to know about filling out your census form
If you haven't already, you should be getting a letter in the mail any day now with instructions on how to fill out the 2020 census.
US census faces challenges counting small, poor Latino towns
Published March 16, 2020
The two white-washed, mission-style churches and old, wooden homes in this town of mostly Latinos and Native Americans seem misplaced near luxury apartments in Phoenix and a suburb surrounding it.
Virus outbreak delays Census counting off-campus students
Because of the new coronavirus, the U.S. Census Bureau has postponed sending out census takers to count college students in off-campus housing and delayed sending workers to grocery stores and houses of worship where they help people fill out the once-a-decade questionnaire.
Virus among challenges Census faces as it aims to hire up to 500,000
Published March 14, 2020
The U.S. Census Bureau said it has reached its goal of recruiting more than 2.6 million applicants for the once-a-decade head count that launched for most of America this week — but it has been a bumpy road getting there and the new coronavirus will likely make the path even more difficult.
Census Bureau site goes live as counting begins in earnest
Published March 10, 2020
The 2020 census is off and running for much of America now.
Highway, Head Start, Section 8 funding in Connecticut tied to census
In fiscal year 2016, the state received $10.7 billion through 55 federal programs.
Workers, volunteers needed for upcoming census
There are countless ways to make sure your community gets correctly counted in this year's census. In addition to filling out your own census response and encouraging friends and family to do their civic duty, the census is looking for both volunteers and paid employees to help collect the count.
Report: Census Bureau at risk of not being ready for count
Published February 12, 2020
While the Census Bureau has succeeded so far in early tasks of verifying addresses across the U.S. and launching an advertising campaign, the agency's readiness for upcoming operations is mixed, according to the report from the Government Accountability Office.
Connecticut launches new website with Census information
A new website has been launched to provide Connecticut residents with reliable information about the 2020 U.S. Census.
Officials emphasize importance of complete census count in Groton
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, local officials, and representatives involved in census efforts emphasized at a news conference Thursday that the census is safe, easy, and important — and coming up quickly.
Census relying on social media, advocates to stop bad info
Because the decennial census takes place only once in every 10 years, some people may not be familiar with it.
New London looks to prevent undercount in upcoming census
Published January 29, 2020
Former New London school Superintendent Nicholas Fischer and his wife, Karen, have agreed to lead the effort in the upcoming count.
Lt. Governor Bysiewicz to visit city as part of census tour
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, leading the state’s census awareness campaign, will visit the city on Wednesday.
Volunteers search region for those who are homeless
Published January 21, 2020
Teams canvassed areas for the Point-in-Time Count, the annual census of the state's homeless population organized by the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.
Advocates warn citizenship, digital divide may affect Census
Published January 10, 2020
The Census Bureau says the hardest people to count are young children, racial and ethnic minorities, non-English speakers, immigrants living in the country illegally, the homeless and low-income people.
Homeland Security will share citizenship data with Census
The Department of Homeland Security is agreeing to share citizenship information with the U.S. Census Bureau as part of President Donald Trump's order to collect data on who is a citizen following the Supreme Court's rejection of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census form.
Census announces wage increase for certain enumerator jobs
The pay increase was instituted to attract more qualified census taker candidates in familiar neighborhoods for work that begins this spring.
What new American Community Survey data tells us about population, age and more in New London County
The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2014-2018 estimates last week.
Wanted in southeastern Connecticut and beyond: Spanish-speaking employees
Eighteen-year-old Lucia Castro's tragic story is illustrative of social services providers' urgent need to recruit more staff who speak Spanish.
Facebook to tackle efforts to interfere with 2020 U.S. census
Published December 19, 2019
Social media companies have been trying to tackle misinformation on their services, especially ahead of next year's U.S. presidential elections.
Connecticut finds $500,000 for census outreach
The administration of Gov. Ned Lamont pledged $500,000 Thursday in discretionary state funds for community outreach in the 2020 census, answering a challenge from philanthropic foundations ready to provide a matching amount.
In some states, the census is an investment. Not Connecticut.
Some states allocate millions of dollars for the count, as lower numbers could mean less federal aid. For Connecticut, $10.7 billion is at stake.
Census report: U.S. population will get older, more diverse
Published October 24, 2019
A "demographic tidal wave" is one big reason for the nation's expected aging and the eventual drop in natural population increase from births outpacing deaths.
Survey: Doubts about 2020 Census higher with minorities
Around 84 percent of Americans definitely or probably plan to answer the questions on the 2020 Census, according to a new survey released Friday.
Researchers question Census Bureau's new approach to privacy
Published September 28, 2019
In an age of rapidly advancing computer power, the U.S. Census Bureau recently undertook an experiment to see if census answers could threaten the privacy of the people who fill out the questionnaires.
Census 2020 VIDEOS
OPINION
Census: Counting all
All should be counted. Cities provide the same level of services — police, fire, schooling, emergency medical aid — to undocumented immigrants as they do to U.S. citizens.
The Supreme Court's chance to save the Census
The citizenship question was added after research showed it would help Republicans to gerrymander congressional districts to better effect.
Accept census ruling
The Constitution clearly calls for apportioning House members based on “the whole number of persons in each State,” not the number of citizens.
Voting districts should be left to neutral party
Political parties should be barred from creating voting districts.Every elected person should be barred from participation in the process of creating voting districts.Creating voting districts should be the task of a neutral body, such as the U.S. Ce...
Challenge and opportunity as local cities grow
After years of flight from the cities, it is great to see the region's urban centers growing. Census figures show that over the last decade Norwich grew by 12.1 percent to 40,493 residents. The New London population grew 7.6 percent, to 27,620. With ...