California Census 2020 Outreach and Communication Campaign Final Report

More than 39 million people and 14.2 million households span more than 163,000 square miles of Californian’s urban,
suburban and rural communities. California has the fifth largest economy in the world and is the most populous state in
the nation, with nation-leading diversity in race, ethnicity, language and socioeconomic conditions. These characteristics
make California amazingly unique amongst all 50 states, but also present significant challenges to counting every person
and every household, no matter the census year.
A complete and accurate count of a state’s population in a decennial census is essential. The results
of the 2020 Census will inform decisions about allocating hundreds of billions of dollars in federal
funding to communities across the country for hospitals, fire departments, school lunch
programs and other critical programs and services. The data collected by the United States
Census Bureau (referred hereafter as U.S. Census Bureau) also determines the number
of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and will be used to redraw
State Assembly and Senate boundaries.
California launched a comprehensive Complete Count
Census 2020 Campaign (referred to hereafter as the
Campaign) to support an accurate and complete count
of Californians in the 2020 Census. Due to the state’s
unique diversity and with insights from past censuses, the
Campaign placed special emphasis on the hardest-tocount Californians and those least likely to participate in
the census. The California Complete Count – Census 2020 Office (referred to
hereafter as the Census Office) coordinated the State’s operations to complement
work done nationally by the U.S. Census Bureau to reach those households most likely
to be missed because of barriers, operational or motivational, preventing people from
filling out the census. The Campaign, which began in 2017, included key phases, titled
Educate, Motivate and Activate. Each of these phases were designed to make sure all
Californians knew about the census, how to respond, their information was safe and their
participation would help their communities for the next 10 years.