What's at stake financially
It is easy to understand the importance of the census when you look at the financial figures. In fiscal year 2015, $1.45 billion in federal funds were allocated to programs in North Dakota based upon resident count from Census 2010 and subsequent annual population estimates.
These programs include: Medicaid, highway construction, Head Start, Foster Care, SNAP, Low Income Energy Assistance, Special Education and other programs. That means approximately $19,100 in federal funds is missed per resident over ten years. Of all the statistics we live with, the census count is one of the longest-lasting as the census occurs only once every decennial.