New Mexico has historically been the hardest state to count in the U.S. census with an estimated 43% of residents living in what’s considered “hard-to-count areas.” This undercount has tremendous repercussions in the form of lost federal funds, and in the worst case scenario, an incorrect number of seats granted to NM in the House of Representatives.
According to national census data, NM loses around $3,000 per uncounted individual, per year. This means an undercount of even one percent would equal a loss of nearly $600 million in federal funding over the ten year census period. The Urban Institute estimates that as many as 36,900 New Mexico residents may be undercounted in 2020, shorting New Mexico almost $1.1 billion in federal funding over a decade. NMBC would like to emphasize the tremendous importance of responding to the census. The accuracy of census data is a determining factor in not just the federal funding the state receives but the improvements and growth our communities deserve. Read more HERE and be sure to look at the census bureau’s interactive map HERE.
