Texas residents have until Sept. 30 to respond to the census—a decennial count of all the people living in the country as of April 1. The results are used to determine federal funding allocations, government representation at the federal and local levels, and corporate decisions, all of which could have major impacts on residents.
As of Sept. 13, 90.8% of Texas residents completed the census with 61.4% self-responding and 29.3% of responses collected by an enumerator doing door-to-door responses, data shows. The national total is 91.8%, with 65.8% self-responding and 26% counted by an enumerator, it said.
Census data is used to distribute $675 billion in federal funding to states based on population, which is then funneled down to the local level. For every 1% of residents who go uncounted, the state of Texas stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, officials said.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, timelines for census completion have shifted. The bureau initially extended its completion deadline to Oct. 31, but announced Aug. 3 that it will shorten its timeline to end operations by Sept. 30 in order to meet a statutory deadline of a completed census delivered to the president by Dec. 31.
Here is where Central Texas census completion stands so far. Percentages may not sum due to rounding, per the report.
