By Betsy Wearing
Northwest Kansas Today
The census is still happening! With the many other issues in the news, don’t forget that Kansas needs to get a complete count for the 2020 census.
It is not too late to complete the information for your household. You can go online to 2020census.gov to respond. If you are not comfortable responding online, you can either fill out the paper form you should have received in the mail, or call, 1-844-330-2020 (1-844-468-2020 for Spanish language).
For every Kansan that is not counted, our state, and by trickle down, our hometowns lose more than $2,000 every year for 10 years.
So, for each person counted, Kansas gains $20,000 in federal dollars over the coming decade.
These funds are critical for schools, highways, and a host of other programs and projects that affect our daily lives. The census also is used to determine our representation in Washington.
In short, it’s important!
Be sure to count every person in your household, from newborn babies born on or before April 1, to grandparents, other relatives or friends who live with you.
If you have a friend or neighbor you suspect might need help completing the census, offer to help or share the phone number above.
Currently Kansas is at just over 65% response rate. It’s better than the national average, but not as good as it was in 2010 or as good as Kansas needs it to be.
Here are the response rates as of July 2 for Northwest Kansas counties, none of which have yet met the rate of response from the 2010 census:
