DDPHE Blog: Make Your Voice Heard on Proposed Census Changes

DDPHE Blog: Make Your Voice Heard on Proposed Census Changes

Published on October 27, 2026

Election Day is nearly upon us, and Denverites are making their choices who will represent them. But many folks don't realize there is another way to make your voice heard this season.

Every 10 years, the U.S. census tells us who lives in Denver. But it is so much more than an accounting of who lives here. Together, with the American Community Survey, the data collected provides the timely, detailed demographic and socioeconomic data that local and national agencies rely on to identify community needs and inform evidence-based policy decisions. In the decade after the census is released, this data shapes how much federal help reaches our city and where our department directs it.

In September, the U.S. Census Bureau proposed regulations that would change who is counted and what the census can ask. The proposal would leave many noncitizens out of the population count and restrict demographic questions on the census and other federal surveys.

These changes would break with more than 200 years of precedent and stand in opposition to the Constitution which calls for counting "the whole number of persons in each State." The census has counted noncitizens since 1790.

Denver is home to more than 740,000 people. The proposed residence change would exclude noncitizens living in Denver and could lower the count of residents by over 60,000. This includes approximately 45,000 asylum seekers who have arrived since December 2022, and more than 16,000 migrant students enrolled in Denver-area schools.

The neighbors who would be excluded by this change are still very much a part of our community. Leaving them out would not only misrepresent the fabric of Denver's communities, but it would also limit our ability to accurately provide care during outbreaks and emerging trends

Census counts feed the formulas behind hundreds of federal programs, including SNAP benefits and HIV care. Those dollars follow accurate population counts and accurate race and ethnicity data, so any distortion lands on some of our highest-need communities.

In public health, we use race and ethnicity data to calculate rates of disease and death and to find where the burden falls the hardest. The data informs our planning and outreach, and it shapes prevention strategies ranging from maternal mortality to suicide and violence prevention.

The proposal would also restrict future census questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. State data already shows troubling trends in self-harm and suicide among LGBTQIA+ youth, and population-level data would help us understand those trends and prevent tragedies.

There is no easy substitute for what we would lose if our friends and neighbors are no longer counted. State datasets rarely reach the neighborhood level, and administering our own survey would take staff and funding that we are already short on.

Voting is one way to be heard this fall. Commenting on these changes is another, and it only takes a minute. Denverites can make their voices heard during the open comment period, which closes on Monday, November 2. Comments from our community show federal officials how an accurate census count affects real families.

• Press release
• Public Health & Environment