Census invitations are here, please respond

About 95 percent or about 143 million households in the country have received an initial invitation to respond to the 2020 Census in their mailboxes the past week. The Census Bureau says the materials can help the public know what to expect and avoid scams.

Households are encouraged to respond when they receive their invitation. Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online or by phone (about 112 million households), or an invitation along with a paper questionnaire (about 31 million households).

All households receiving an invitation in the mail will receive a second letter in the mail shortly after reminding them to respond. Then, households that still haven’t responded will receive a series of additional reminders, including a paper questionnaire in mid-April.