The census plays an important role in determining the amount of federal funding Arizona receives. The $675 billion available to states every year is based on population. A complete count next year ensures that we can preserve the outstanding quality of life we enjoy in Arizona.
What is Arizona’s share of the federal funding used for?
In 2020, it’s critical that every Arizonan is counted to ensure that our state, our counties and our cities can provide the services needed for our growing population, including:
- Schools
- Hospitals
- Health Care
- School Lunch Programs
- Roads
- Public works
- Community services
- Clinics
- Much more
Why does every person in Arizona need to be counted?
It’s estimated that up to $3,000 per person, per year is at stake for every Arizonan. That is more than $20 billion dollars annually that helps support Arizona’s communities.
In fact, for every Arizonan who does not respond to the census, the state stands to lose $887 in federal funding. Just a 1% undercount would represent a loss to the state of $62 million per year for a decade, for a total loss of $620 million.
The census also impacts our political representation. Arizona stands to gain an additional representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. Our local political boundaries are also based on census data, from our school districts to our state legislature.
What are some of the hard-to-count areas in Arizona?
Hard-to-count areas are communities with traditionally low response rates to the census. In Arizona, hard-to-count areas are located across the entire state, but generally we see lower response rates for these communities:
- Seniors
- Rural areas
- College students
- Children under 5 years old
- Faith-based communities
- Tribal communities
- LGBTQ
Local leaders can help the Arizona 2020 Census make sure their communities are counted by reaching out directly to their residents with information about participation in the 2020 census. To help to spread the word, explore our toolkit.
