Census wants 10 minutes of U.S. residents’ time

Orange County residents can expect a postcard-sized letter in the mail this week reminding them to fill out the 2010 census questionnaires expected to hit U.S. households by mid-March.

The questionnaire is the shortest in the history of the U.S. Census Bureau, consisting of 10 questions. In all, it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to fill out, according to U.S. census officials in California.

Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau takes a head count of how many people are living in the country. The census aims to include everyone, documented or not, living in the U.S. in order to paint an accurate portrait.

The count is required under the U.S. Constitution. Ultimately the number of people believed to be living in the country sets a tentative gauge on how much federal money can be doled out to schools, roads and myriad federally funded projects.

The information also plays a key role in whether more congressional seats are needed and factors into redrawing district boundaries.

“This is going to be a busy week for us,” said Cynthia Endo, a California spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau. “First, we’re going to try to get the word out to all of the rural households, and from there, we’re going to work our way into the larger cities and towns across the United States.”

At a Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education meeting last week, members urged the audience to fill out the questionnaires because it could lead to more money set aside for the district, which plans to cut $12 million from next year’s budget.

An estimated 3 million people live in Orange County, according to census projections released in 2008. The population represents a 5.8% increase since 2000, when the U.S. census counted 2.8 million.

Seven percent of the county’s population is younger than 5, 25% is younger than 18, and 11% is older than 65. Of the 3 million people in Orange County, 78% are white, 16% are Asian and 33% are Hispanic, according to the figures.

In Costa Mesa, as of 2006, 109,809 people lived within city limits, representing a 0.3% increase over the 108,724 residents recorded in the 2000 census, according to updated census figures.

As for Newport Beach, in 2006, 80,006 inhabitants were recorded, compared with 70,000 at the time of the 2000 census, representing a 2.3% increase.

Officials could not say whether there would be a significant increase in the population in either city during the census, although if school district growth or community college student population increases are any indication, there could be as much as a 1% to 2% rise, officials said.

Endo said that the entire count should be completed by July, and that the final report on the country’s entire population won’t go to President Obama until the last day of December.

“Basically, the information won’t be made available until early 2011,” she said.