National Facts

• The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years.

• The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

• The next census is on 4/1/10

• Census forms will be mailed out mid-March 2010

• Your participation in the census is required by law.

• It takes less than 10 minutes to complete and has just 10 questions.

• Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.

• Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.

The U.S. Census Monitoring Board estimates that Census 2000 undercounted the actual U.S. population by over three million individuals (an undercount rate of 1.18 percent).

Local Facts

• Cincinnati is estimated to be undercounted by approximately 45,000 people

• For each person not counted, the City of Cincinnati loses $2,263 per 10 years in federal funding.

• The undercount results in a loss of about $104 million over a ten-year period

Who's most likely to be undercounted?

• Minorities
• Children
• The Poor
• People in Large Urban Areas
• People in Rural Areas