As dedicated and resilient census takers, you have successfully wrapped up data collection―meaning you have knocked on your last door and filled out your final questionnaire―in the Census Bureau’s quest to get a complete and accurate count of our great and vast country. You were a critical part of accounting for 99.98 percent of all addresses nationwide.

It’s been a challenging road as we battled COVID-19, hurricanes, wildfires, and more. Through it all, you―our census takers―adapted and kept moving forward by doing all that you could to count those who hadn’t yet been counted.

You were assigned a list of addresses each day and traveled to those locations to collect much-needed information. When you got there, you wore your personal protective equipment and had to answer numerous questions. Was it still a home, or was it demolished? Did someone live there or not? If so, how many people lived there, who were they, and how old were they?

These questions may sound straightforward but gathering the data was not. I saw this firsthand while working as a census taker for a day back in August in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Being assigned a caseload and talking to people in neighborhoods gave me a great appreciation for some of our enumerators’ challenges throughout the 2020 census fieldwork.

Repeatedly, our staff showed grace under pressure, persistence, and countless instances of kindness and concern for those in their community. We have heard so many amazing stories and are cautious about sharing them because we take our vow to protect confidentiality so seriously.

Among the stories:

• To reach a small number of houses on a remote island with no bridge, a census taker kayaked to reach the island and make sure those residents were counted.
• Another census taker decided to knock on one last door before calling it a day and heard a cry for help. The census taker and a neighbor found an older woman who had been lying on the floor for days after falling. They called 911 and likely saved her life.

Another example is Tim Olson, our Associate Director for Field Operations, bumping into a census taker in his neighborhood, a retired veteran and 40-year resident of Washington, D.C. The census taker told Tim that working on the 2020 Census had “restored his faith in humanity.” One example the census taker mentioned was that he’d been able to convert a “no” to a “yes” and that he was “happy I got to be the one to count her.”

Our census takers having these one-to-one interactions with those in their community― multiplied by many millions―is how the census gets done.

In addition to knocking on doors, our census takers also participate in special operations that include counting people experiencing homelessness, people living in campgrounds and RVs, and people seeking refuge in domestic violence shelters. This work is important to our mission of achieving a complete and accurate count.

Your work is truly the backbone of the 2020 Census. It requires incredible effort, the detailed planning and coordination of our amazing field staff, and the cooperation and participation of the American public.

You have all been vital to the mission of the 2020 Census right from the beginning. Without each of you, there would be no 2020 Census.

You all took part in one of the most important exercises our democracy undertakes every ten years―one so important that our Founding Fathers included it in the U.S. Constitution.

On behalf of the entire Census Bureau, I want to express my sincere admiration and appreciation for your hard work, commitment, and resilience during this unprecedented year. The Nation and we are grateful! 

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