What questions will the Census ask?
Who counts in a “household?”
How should I complete the Census?
When should I have received my Census form in the mail?
In what languages can I fill out the Census form?
Is there a phone number I can call for help?
I have more people living with me than my landlord knows. Should I list them?
What happens if I do not fill out the Census?
Are Census workers going to come to my home?
What questions will the Census ask?
The 2020 Census will ask a few simple questions about you and everyone who was living with you on April 1, 2020.
Please note that if you are responding online, you must complete the Census in one sitting, as you don't have the ability to save your progress.
If you want to see the exact questions that will be asked, please click on this link: https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions.html.
Who counts in a “household?”
Before completing the 2020 Census, you need to know where to count yourself and who to count with you in your home.
The goal of the 2020 Census is a complete and accurate count of everyone living in the United States and its five territories. You should count yourself at the place where you are living and sleeping most of the time on April 1, 2020 (Census Day).
For some, this is straightforward. But others—including college students, service members, and people in health care facilities—may have questions about where they should count themselves or how they should respond, especially during the current health crisis. Other circumstances can cause confusion as well, such as moving, having multiple residences, having no permanent address, living in a shelter, or living at a hotel or RV park.
For more details about where people are counted, view the Official Residence Criteria for the 2020 Census.
How should I complete the Census?
Completing the Census is easy and only takes a few minutes. Fill out the online questions at my2020Census.gov, by phone [link to https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html], or mail.
When should I have received my Census form in the mail?
Most households received their invitation to respond to the 2020 Census between March 12 – 20. These official Census Bureau mailings will include detailed information and a Census ID for completing the Census online.
In addition to an invitation to respond, some households will receive a paper questionnaire (sometimes known as the census form). You do not need to wait for your paper questionnaire to respond to the Census.
In what languages can I fill out the Census form?
We want to make sure that everyone can respond to the 2020 Census.
To help you answer the census, the U.S. Census Bureau provides translated web pages and guides in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, as well as guides in braille and large print.
View the complete list below:
Albanian / Shqip
Amharic / አማርኛ
Arabic / العربية
Armenian / Հայերեն
Bengali / বাংলা
Bosnian / Bosanski
Bulgarian / Български
Burmese
Chinese (Simplified) / 中文(简体)
Chinese (Traditional) /中文(繁體)
Croatian / Hrvatski
Czech / Čeština
Dutch / Nederlands
Farsi / فارسی
French / Français
German / Deutsch
Greek / Ελληνικά
Gujarati / ગુજરાતી
Haitian Creole / Kreyòl Ayisyen
Hebrew / עברית
Hindi / हिन्दी
Hmong / Hmoob
Hungarian / Magyar
Igbo / Igbo
Ilocano / Ilokano
Indonesian / Bahasa Indonesia
Italian / Italiano
Japanese / 日本語
Khmer / ខ្មែ រ
Korean / 한국어
Lao / ພາສາລາວ
Lithuanian / Lietuvių
Malayalam / മലയാളം
Marathi / मराठी
Navajo / Diné
Nepali / नेपाली
Polish / Polski
Portuguese / Português
Punjabi / ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
Romanian / Română
Russian / Русский
Serbian / Srpski
Sinhala / සිංහල
Slovak / Slovenčina
Somali / Soomaali
Spanish / Español
Swahili / Kiswahili
Tagalog / Tagalog
Tamil / தமிழ்
Telugu / తెలుగు
Thai / ไทย
Tigrinya /ትግርኛ
Turkish / Türkçe
Twi / Twi
Ukrainian / Українська
Urdu / اردو
Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt
Yiddish / ייִדיש
Yoruba / Yorùbá
Large Print [1.7 MB]
Braille [< 1 MB]
American Sign Language
Is there a phone number I can call for help?
The 2020 Census can be completed by phone in the below languages.
English and Spanish Language Hours of Operation: Customer Service Representatives are available every day from 7am to 2am Eastern Time on the following phone lines:
· English (for 50 states and Washington, D.C.): 844-330-2020
· Spanish (for 50 states and Washington, D.C.): 844-468-2020
· English (for Puerto Rico residents): 844-418-2020
· Spanish (for Puerto Rico residents): 844-426-2020
· TDD (Telephone Display Device): 844-467-2020
Non-English and Non-Spanish Language Hours of Operation: Customer Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time on the following phone lines:
· Chinese (Mandarin): 844-391-2020
· Chinese (Cantonese): 844-398-2020
· Vietnamese: 844-461-2020
· Korean: 844-392-2020
· Russian: 844-417-2020
· Arabic: 844-416-2020
· Tagalog: 844-478-2020
· Polish: 844-479-2020
· French: 844-494-2020
· Haitian Creole: 844-477-2020
· Portuguese: 844-474-2020
· Japanese: 844-460-2020
To help you respond, the Census Bureau offers web pages and guides in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, as well as guides in Braille and large print.
Visit Language Support to learn more.
I have more people living with me than my landlord knows. Should I list them?
Yes. Everyone must be listed, according to the U.S. Constitution. The Census will not report your answers to your landlord or anyone else. Please make sure all people living in your household, or property, on April 1, 2020 are counted.
What happens if I do not fill out the Census?
If your household fails to respond online or by telephone by late May 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau will mail several reminders to your household and will ultimately mail you a printed questionnaire—in English and Spanish—for you to return by mail. If you still do not respond, Census workers, called enumerators, will visit your home to attempt to get a response beginning in June.
Are Census workers going to come to my home? If yes, when?
Census workers, called enumerators, will only go to the homes of those who have not yet responded online, by phone, or by mail.
Beginning in June, you may see Census takers in your neighborhood as they collect responses to the 2020 Census.
All Census takers carry an ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date.
