Census Bureau Canvassing Arlington Addresses Through October to Prepare for 2020 Census
By Office of Communication
Posted on August 14, 2019, August 14, 2019

Census worker verifying addressesWork is underway now in Arlington to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 Census.

Between now and October, you may see Census Bureau employees quietly canvassing neighborhoods, noting addresses. Their work improves and refines the Bureau’s address list, which is necessary to deliver invitations to respond to the 2020 Census. The address list plays a vital role in ensuring a complete and accurate count of everyone living in the United States.

To help identify address listers, Census Bureau employees canvassing select neighborhoods will have badges and briefcases indicating their affiliation with the Census Bureau. They will knock on doors and ask a few simple questions to verify the address and any additional living quarters on the property for inclusion in the census.

Employees will introduce themselves as a Census Bureau employee, show their official government ID badge, and explain the purpose of the visit. You may also ask for a picture ID from another source to confirm their identity.

“The Census Bureau is dedicated to ensuring that we are on track, and ready to accomplish the mission of the 2020 Census,” said Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham. “We have made many improvements and innovations over the past decade, including better technologies for canvassing neighborhoods and developing complete and updated address listings and maps.”

The Census Bureau created new software called the Block Assessment, Research and Classification Application (BARCA). It compares satellite images of the United States over time, allowing Census Bureau employees to spot new housing developments, changes in existing homes and other housing units that did not previously exist. Reviewers also use BARCA to compare the number of housing units in current imagery with the number of addresses on file for each block.

“We were able to verify 65% of addresses using satellite imagery — a massive accomplishment for us,” said Census Bureau Geography Division Chief Deirdre Bishop during the briefing. “In 2010 we had to hire 150,000 people to verify 100% of the addresses in the field, this decade we will only have to hire about 40,000 employees around the nation to verify the remaining 35% of addresses.”

Click here to view an interactive map, showing locations where census workers will be verifying addresses.

The census is critical for accurate legislative representation and allocation of federal grant funding to Arlington for the next ten years.

147,407 Arlington households will be invited to respond to the census in March 2020. Residents will be able to respond in 13 languages online, by mail or over the phone.

Click here to read more about Arlington's Everyone Counts efforts.

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