2020 Census – First Results

The first round of the 2020 Census results was released Monday, April 26. As expected, the South and West have seen significant population growth while states in the Northeast, Midwest, and California did not. Consequently, New York lost one seat in the House of Representatives.  

The data on new state population counts is used to reapportion seats in Congress, and also, the Electoral College. 

If an additional 89 New York residents completed the census, we would not have lost any congressional seats. But we must remember that this count took place during one of the most tumultuous times in our city when Covid-19 was claiming the lives of loved ones every day. The disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on low-income communities of color combined with the Trump Administration’s repeated efforts to cut the count short, made a full count nearly impossible. 

Through it all, our city exceeded the Census Bureau’s own pre-Covid estimate for self-responses, which was 58%, thanks to the tremendous work of so many doing the work on the ground.  

Our own work through the Interfaith Census Project brought together faith leaders across neighborhoods that have historically been undercounted to raise awareness about the importance of the census and help their community members complete their self-responses.   

You can find out more about the results here. We anticipate we will know more information in the coming months related to how the census will impact funding in our local communities.  

About FPWA

FPWA is an anti-poverty policy and advocacy organization committed to advancing economic opportunity and upward mobility for low-income New Yorkers. Having a prominent New York presence for nearly 100 years, FPWA has long served New York City’s social service sector, providing grants to help individuals and families meet their basic needs, and advocating for fair public policies on behalf of people in need and the agencies that serve them. FPWA’s member network of 170 human-service and faith-based organizations reach more than 1.5 million people in New York’s communities each year. Join us at fpwa.org, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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