- About a dozen small communities in the Midwest, including 11 cities in Illinois and Iowa, plan to conduct a second census in 2024.
- These communities aim to get more accurate population counts to secure additional state funding for new grocery stores and projects.
- Officials believe a growing population could make the region eligible for increased state subsidies and attract new businesses.
Four years after the last census, more than a dozen small communities in the Midwest were surveyed again in hopes of getting more state funding to build new grocery stores and build roads, fire stations, and parks. That will happen.
So far, 11 small cities in Illinois and Iowa are the only ones with agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau to resurvey their residents in 2024, the first year a special census can be conducted. , a repeat of what happened during the special census. 2020 Census.
With one exception, city officials believe the numbers in the original tally are not inaccurate. However, the population has grown so rapidly over the past three years that authorities believe they are not adding extra growth to the population total, leaving state funding for roads and other items on the table. There is. Others believe the new results from the second count will open up the community to new business by showing it has crossed a population threshold.
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“We expect significant population growth from the special census, especially given a record year for building permits,” says Bondurant, Iowa, a city with more than 8,700 residents as of mid-2022. said Marketa Oliver, administrator of the . Last year's numbers are available, which is an 18% increase over her 2020 numbers.
A census taker's briefcase knocks on the door of a home on August 11, 2020 in Winter Park, Florida. So far, 11 small cities in Illinois and Iowa are the only municipalities with agreements with the Census Commission. The U.S. Census Bureau is calling for a second count of residents in 2024, the first year a special census can be conducted, in a repeat of what happened during the 2020 census. (AP Photo/John Rau, File)
Officials in Norwalk, Iowa, hope a second count will show the city's population has surpassed 15,000. That's because this number is typically used as a rule of thumb for commercial real estate when a community can support a business like a supermarket.
“When a city reaches 15,000 people, the market opens up,” said Luke Nelson, Norwalk's city manager.
Unlike the 2020 census, the second count will not be used to redraw electoral districts or determine the number of seats in each state. Instead, they are used to determine how much a community gets from state funding, which is often calculated by population size. Communities whose population has declined in the past three years need not worry. The population decline will not catch up until after the 2030 census.
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Local, state, and tribal governments across the United States have until May 2027 to request a special census from the Census Bureau. The 2020 head count was collected by the federal government, but local governments must pay for the special census. Costs aren't cheap, ranging from just over $370,000 to almost $500,000 for community.
Some communities are already pursuing their own do-it-yourself recounts, unwilling to pay the high costs of special bureau-sponsored censuses. Some people have challenged the numbers to the Census Bureau and won small victories.
The Iowa cities that will pay for the Census Bureau's second count in 2024 are Altoona, Bondurant, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill and Waukee, which are fast-growing suburbs of Des Moines. . The reason special censuses are so popular in Iowa is because the state uses the decennial head count as the official population for funding based on population size, according to the State Library and State Data Center. Coordinator Gary Klob said. of Iowa.
Other states between censuses use annual population estimates to calculate how much money local governments should receive each year.
“That means the 2020 Census population is now the official count for every city and county in Iowa,” Klob said. “The only way he can adjust the population numbers from now until 2030 is to conduct a special census at the Census Bureau and have this new population number certified by the Iowa Secretary of State.”
The geography of Illinois' cities and the reasons for seeking a second count, including McDonough, Pingree Grove, Urbana and Warrenville, are a bit more dispersed than in Iowa.
Officials in the Chicago suburb of Warrenville, home to more than 13,500 residents as of 2020, said they have received federal and state We believe this funding will generate an additional $1.2 million per year.
The village of Pingree Grove, a suburb of Chicago, has experienced rapid growth, with more than 4,500 residents in 2010, doubling to more than 10,300 in 2020. Village officials believe there will be 12,300 residents in 2024, so a special census is needed to collect more residents. “This will result in a much better share of the state's revenue compared to waiting another six years for the 2030 Census,” said Village Clerk Laura Ortega.
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University of Illinois students make up about half of the university city of Urbana's population, and city officials say many of them were missed in the 2020 census.
The 2020 census found spaces where many students congregate vacated as campuses closed to in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The slow population growth that Urbana predicted for the 2020 census ended up being a 7% decline compared to 2010, with the biggest decline being in student neighborhoods near campus, Mayor Diane Marlin said in an e-mail. stated in an email.
The mayor said uncounted students cost the city at least $500,000 to $750,000 a year in missing state and federal funds. Urbana's 2024 count will be limited to districts with the largest declines.
“If we get more accurate counts and get the population back, we can recoup lost revenue,” Merlin said.
