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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Data and Methodology for State, Local Government, and Territory Allocations

January 11, 2021

Eligibility of Local Governments

A unit of local government eligible for receipt of direct payment includes a county, municipality, town, 

township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level with a 

population that exceeds 200,000. 

Overlapping Jurisdictions.

Some local governments (for example, a city) may be entirely within the boundaries of a larger local 

government (for example, a county or parish). The larger local government may include, for purposes of 

determining whether it meets the 200,000 threshold for eligibility, the population of the smaller, 

constituent local government. 

The population used to calculate the larger local government’s payment amount will depend on whether 

any smaller, constituent local government that is eligible to receive a payment provides a certification for 

payment:

• If the smaller, constituent local government does not provide a certification for payment, the 

entire population of the larger local government (including the population of the smaller local 

government) will be used for purposes of calculating its payment amount.

• If the smaller, constituent local government provides a certification for payment, the population 

of the smaller local government will be subtracted from the population of the larger local 

government for purposes of calculating its payment amount.

The following examples illustrate these points. 

• County A has a total population of 250,000, comprised of 75,000 in City B (the incorporated part 

of the county within the borders of County A) and 175,000 in the unincorporated part of the 

county.

o County A is eligible to receive a payment, because its total population (including both the 

incorporated City A and the unincorporated part of the county) is greater than 200,000.

o County A’s payment amount will be calculated based on a population of 250,000.

o City B is not eligible to receive a payment because its population is less than 200,000.

• County C has a total population of 400,000, comprised of 300,000 in City D (the incorporated 

part of the county) and 100,000 in the unincorporated part of the county.

o Both County C and City D are eligible to provide a certification, because their total 

respective populations exceed 200,000. 

o If County C provides a certification but City D does not, County C’s payment amount 

will be based on a population of 400,000.

o If both County C and City D provide certifications, County C’s payment amount will be 

calculated based on a population of 100,000 (total population less the population of City 

D). City D’s payment amount will be calculated based on its population of 300,000.
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Census Data

The Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2021 (the “Act”) directs Treasury to use U.S. Census Bureau data 

for the most recent year for which data are available for population calculations for the Emergency Rental 

Assistance program.

States and Local Governments

Treasury will use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program for determining the 

populations of States and local governments:

• Treasury will use 2020 data from the 2020 Vintage for States and the District of Columbia. The 

2020 Vintage for States is the most recently available estimates of state population, and is

available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technicaldocumentation/research/evaluation-estimates.html.

• Treasury will use 2019 data from the 2019 Vintage to determine the local governments’ relative 

population share of each state. The 2019 Vintage is the most recently available estimates of the 

relative population share of each local government’s population to the state population. The 2019 

Vintage data for States, Counties, and units of local government below the county level are

available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html.

The table below includes the population for each State and the District of Columbia, the State’s share of 

the total population of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the State’s allocation (which takes 

into account the statutory requirement that no State receive less than $200,000,000).

State State Population, 2020 State Share of Total 

Population

Maximum State 

Allocation

Alabama 4,921,532 0.0149 $326,358,801.20

Alaska 731,158 0.0022 $200,000,000.00

Arizona 7,421,401 0.0225 $492,131,217.20

Arkansas 3,030,522 0.0092 $200,961,311.80

California 39,368,078 0.1195 $2,610,593,356.20

Colorado 5,807,719 0.0176 $385,124,024.50

Connecticut 3,557,006 0.0108 $235,873,751.10

Delaware 986,809 0.0030 $200,000,000.00

District of Columbia 712,816 0.0022 $200,000,000.00

Florida 21,733,312 0.0660 $1,441,188,973.40

Georgia 10,710,017 0.0325 $710,207,372.20

Hawaii 1,407,006 0.0043 $200,000,000.00

Idaho 1,826,913 0.0055 $200,000,000.00

Illinois 12,587,530 0.0382 $834,709,842.60

Indiana 6,754,953 0.0205 $447,937,423.40

Iowa 3,163,561 0.0096 $209,783,452.70

Kansas 2,913,805 0.0088 $200,000,000.00

Kentucky 4,477,251 0.0136 $296,897,443.50

Louisiana 4,645,318 0.0141 $308,042,376.60

Maine 1,350,141 0.0041 $200,000,000.00

Maryland 6,055,802 0.0184 $401,575,013.80
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State State Population, 2020 State Share of Total 

Population

Maximum State 

Allocation

Massachusetts 6,893,574 0.0209 $457,129,720.30

Michigan 9,966,555 0.0302 $660,906,592.10

Minnesota 5,657,342 0.0172 $375,152,158.50

Mississippi 2,966,786 0.0090 $200,000,000.00

Missouri 6,151,548 0.0187 $407,924,164.80

Montana 1,080,577 0.0033 $200,000,000.00

Nebraska 1,937,552 0.0059 $200,000,000.00

Nevada 3,138,259 0.0095 $208,105,615.30

New Hampshire 1,366,275 0.0041 $200,000,000.00

New Jersey 8,882,371 0.0270 $589,011,704.40

New Mexico 2,106,319 0.0064 $200,000,000.00

New York 19,336,776 0.0587 $1,282,268,820.90

North Carolina 10,600,823 0.0322 $702,966,451.50

North Dakota 765,309 0.0023 $200,000,000.00

Ohio 11,693,217 0.0355 $775,405,764.40

Oklahoma 3,980,783 0.0121 $263,975,438.50

Oregon 4,241,507 0.0129 $281,264,683.40

Pennsylvania 12,783,254 0.0388 $847,688,778.80

Rhode Island 1,057,125 0.0032 $200,000,000.00

South Carolina 5,218,040 0.0158 $346,020,970.50

South Dakota 892,717 0.0027 $200,000,000.00

Tennessee 6,886,834 0.0209 $456,682,774.50

Texas 29,360,759 0.0891 $1,946,983,603.80

Utah 3,249,879 0.0099 $215,507,410.00

Vermont 623,347 0.0019 $200,000,000.00

Virginia 8,590,563 0.0261 $569,661,203.50

Washington 7,693,612 0.0234 $510,182,193.10

West Virginia 1,784,787 0.0054 $200,000,000.00

Wisconsin 5,832,655 0.0177 $386,777,591.50

Wyoming 582,328 0.0018 $200,000,000.00

Total 329,484,123 1.0000 $23,785,000,000.00

U.S. Territories 

Section 501(b)(3)(A)(ii) of Division N of the Act provides discretion to the Secretary to determine each 

Territory’s share of the total population of all Territories. 

Treasury will use 2019 data from the 2019 Vintage from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates 

Program for determining the population of Puerto Rico. The 2019 Vintage data are available at 

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html.

Treasury will use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Programs’ International Data Base for 

determining the populations of USVI, Guam, CNMI, and American Samoa. International Programs 
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updated its population estimates and future population projections for the U.S. Territories in December 

2020. The December 2020 update caused the population estimates for 2019 to be revised from previous 

releases. Treasury will use the 2019 population projections from International Programs’ December 2020

population estimates and projections for USVI, Guam, CNMI, and American Samoa. These data are 

available at https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/#/table.

These Census data provide the most accurate estimate available of the current population of each of the 

Territories. In addition, this approach is consistent with the approach taken for the population data of 

States and local governments.

The table below includes the population of each Territory, the share of the Territories, and the allocation 

for each Territory (which takes into account the statutory requirement that the sum of the amounts 

allocated for payments to all the Territories other than Puerto Rico shall not be less than $75,000,000). 

Population, 2019 Share of Total Population Allocation

American Samoa 48,456 0.0136 $9,682,885.60

Guam 168,149 0.0471 $33,600,948.00

Northern Mariana Islands 52,048 0.0146 $10,400,669.30

Puerto Rico 3,193,694 0.8948 $325,000,000.00

Virgin Islands 106,669 0.0299 $21,315,497.10

Total 3,569,016 1.0000 $400,000,000.00