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Census officials are reminding Meridian residents to respond to the 2020 Census.

“It only takes a few minutes, but your response will make a difference to your community for the next decade,” said George Grandy Jr., the U.S. Census Bureau’s Atlanta Regional Director, in a Oct. 6 news release.

Mississippi has a total response rate of 97.9%, according to the news release. People can respond until Oct. 31.

Ward 1 councilman George Thomas urged people to register for the census at the city council meeting on Tuesday. The census helps determine how much money Mississippi receives from the federal government. This funding goes towards infrastructure, highways and other programs, Thomas said.

The state received more than $10.1 billion in fiscal year 2016 through federal spending programs guided by census data, according to the George Washington Institute for Public Policy.

The census also determines the number of representatives that represent Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Grandy asked residents who are visited or called by a census taker to cooperate. He also said that people can still respond by visiting 2020census.gov, by calling 844-330-2020 or by returning the paper questionnaire in the mail.