Did you know that the census results affect planning and funding for education—including programs such as Head Start, Pell Grants, school lunches, rural education, adult education, and grants for preschool special education? Check out this page from the Project on Government Oversight to see how much funding each state gets. If you click on the New Mexico document, you can see what funds Grant County gets based on our population as counted by the Census.
If you haven’t responded to the 2020 Census yet, now is the time. The deadline is September 30.
Here in Grant County, only 50% of residents have responded to date.
Our community needs you to get counted!
The easiest way to get counted is to go online to 2020census.gov and fill out the on-line questionnaire. It takes about 10 minutes.
You can also fill out your paper questionnaire that you should have received in the mail.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, all public locations for census taking are closed. People who do not have access to the internet or have not received a paper questionnaire can call the 2020 Census Assistance line at 1-844-330-2020. Additionally, Belinda Jones of the El Refugio is offering to help walk anyone through the form. She can be reached at 575-538-2125 extension 17. You may also call us at the library, 575-538-3672 — ask for Lillian or Javier.
Be careful about scams and fraudulent communications impersonating the census. This page describes how to avoid scams. If someone visits your home to collect a response for the 2020 Census, they will have a valid ID badge, with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date. If you still have questions about their identity, you can call 844-330-2020 to speak with a Census Bureau representative. Click here for an article describing how to tell whether a mailing, email, text, or in-person visitor is from the Census.
Click here for a map of Census self-response rates for New Mexico. You can compare rates by county.
Check out this fun comparison of the United States at the time of the first census in 1790, versus today.