The 2010 census forms should be arriving in the mail next week. The Census Bureau is sending 120 million forms to residential addresses across the country and forms could be received as early as Monday.
This week, residents should be receiving a short letter announcing the census form is on the way. The letter is printed in several languages, including Spanish, in hopes people will be encouraged to fill out the form.
Each 10 years, the census is held, in an attempt to get an accurate count of residents across the United States. The numbers mean money for communities like Corcoran, which could benefit by millions of federal dollars, state and county over the next 10 years with a complete count of local residents. The numbers are also used to determine the number of Congressional seats granted to each state.
This year’s census form is one of the most simple in decades. While the 2000 census included a long version that went out to every sixth person and gathered detailed information, this year’s form asked just 10 questions and should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. The census forms come with a prepaid envelope that can be used to mail them back to Washington, D.C.
By encouraging people to mail the forms back, the census bureau hopes to save money on sending workers door-to-door beginning in April.
