Report: 2020 US census helped guide distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual government spending

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

The head count of every U.S. resident in 2020 helped guide the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal spending, underscoring the importance of participating in the once-a-decade census. That’s according to a new report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. There were 353 federal assistance programs that used the Census Bureau data in 2021 to steer the allocation of the federal funding. That’s up from 316 programs accounting for $1.5 trillion in 2017 when a similar study was updated. The federal funding is distributed to state and local governments, nonprofits, businesses and households. In 2021, it helped pay for health care, education, COVID-19 relief and highways.