Peter Chen and Alana Vega New Jersey’s 2020 census count of 9,288,994 residents outpaced predictions and served as evidence of the state’s effective outreach campaign. The 2020 count represented a 5.7% increase over its 2010 population count, adding almost a half-million residents over the past decade. Although this rate was slower than the national growth rate of 7.4%, it outpaced the Northeast region’s growth of 4.1%. But the count itself is just the beginning of a decade-long process that will shape New Jersey politically and financially. These once-a-decade counts form the foundation of how power and funding are distributed across the country. Census drives political representation, funding and data