After a major push to get Arizona up to speed, 96% of households in the state have responded to the 2020 census.
The Arizona Complete Count Committee says about two months ago, 450 census workers were flown to Arizona to go door-knocking. They got an additional 32.9% of Arizonans to respond. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 63.5% of Arizonans self-reported.
But Debbie Johnson, Chair of the Arizona Complete Count Committee, says there is still more work to be done. The committee says for every 1% of Arizonans who don't fill out the census, the state loses out on $62 million every year.
Some of that money goes to fund programs that help children, like the National School Lunch Program.
Johnson says 650,000 kids rely on free or reduced lunch at 500 locations across Arizona.
"We want to get a full count so we can make sure those programs exist, but if we don't there will have to be cuts made and that's not something anybody wants to see," Johnson said. "We want to make sure that we're supporting our communities and our children."
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the 2020 Census will end Oct. 5, despite a judge's order saying it can continue through the end of October.
In a tweet by the U.S. Census Bureau, he said the ability for people to self-respond to the census questionnaire and the phase where census takers go door-knocking, are targeted to end Oct. 5.
If you have yet to respond, go online to Census.gov.
