SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – If your combat boots are touching North Texas dirt on April 1, 2020, you can have an impact on 2020 Census data for Wichita Falls and surrounding communities.
According to information at 2020Census.gov, households will receive notifications through the mail March 12-20 from the Census Bureau with a unique ID code and instructions on how to complete the census by phone, mail or online. Then on Census Day, people can complete their census and tell the Census Bureau where they live as of April 1. Information collected is based on where you are physically living at the time of the census, not the state or city you claim as your permanent residence.
During a kickoff event with area leaders in downtown Wichita Falls in January, 82nd Training Wing Commander Col. Kenyon Bell said it doesn’t matter if someone has been at Sheppard for six months or 10 years, counting themselves and their families can make a difference.
“Being counted here supports the agencies that support Sheppard Air Force Base,” he said. “[This includes] veteran’s services, medical and mental health care, housing, recreation. I’d like to encourage everyone in our wider military community to make sure they are counted right here this year in the 2020 census.”
Information collected from the census includes a phone number; whether the home is owned or rented; and the number of residents in each household, including their age, gender, race/ethnicity and relationship to one another. It’s safe, easy and, most of all, it’s important.
But why is it important to participate in the census? Here are a few ways it helps the local area:
- 55 community programs receive funding
- Housing, schools, roads and hospitals also receive funding
- Businesses use the data to decide where to build factories, offices and stores as well as create jobs
- The number of representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives is determined by population
Those are just a few examples of how the 2020 Census can help Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls and surrounding communities. Click here for more information.
So, what does that mean for Team Sheppard? For those living in base housing, there isn’t any difference than if they were living off base. They can complete their census online, by phone or by mail.
For those living in dormitories, the Census Bureau will collect that data the same as they would for Midwestern State University students living in the dorms.
Want to see what the census form looks like? Click here for a sample questionnaire.
The census is conducted every 10 years by the Census Bureau. The first census was collected in 1790.