Approximately 140 workers are needed to fill the 2020 Census Taker positions right here in Cook County.  Applications are being taken now, training will begin in March, and the work will occur from April through August.  

The Census counts every person in the United States and is conducted every 10 years.  The Census determines how many representatives we get. It also determines how much money is allocated to our County.  It is critical that residents respond to the Census. In 2010, Cook County only had a 41% participation rate, compared to 81% across the state of Minnesota.  In 2000, Cook County’s participation rate was 37%. The most undercounted groups are people of color, children, and the elderly. To learn more about the importance of the Census for communities, click here:  https://2020census.gov/en/community-impact.html

According to Rena Rogers, Interim Cook County Administrator, “We have so many PO boxes here in Cook County.  Because the census forms have to be delivered to a physical location and left at the door or with a person, we really need workers to fill these positions.”  Census Takers in Cook County are one of the counties being offered the highest wage. In addition, some of the benefits of being a census worker are:

• Workers are paid $24 an hour (supervisory positions are paid a higher wage)
• Census Takers are reimbursed 58 cents a mile
• Scheduling is flexible.  There is a need for both full and part time workers