• Montana State receives more than $2 billion in federal funds for a variety of human service, community development, and health programs.
• Each missed person in the census count costs Montana State approximately $1,989 in federal funds. Over the course of a decade, that’s nearly $20,000.
• Local governments use census data to determine where development should take place and how local dollars should be spent.

• The data collected shows geographic areas that are underserved, which gives data that informs service delivery.
• The data collected and published by the Census Bureau is also used to inform grant proposals and other projects designed to raise the quality of life in our communities.

The decennial census is used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government.

Montana is on the cusp of adding a second representative in Congress. If Montana’s count is up and other states are down, Montana could pick up another seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.