http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2010-04-20-census-participation-rate_N.htm
The participation rate hit 71% Tuesday, just one point below the 2000 Census rate. The U.S. population has grown almost 10% since 2000, to an estimated 309 million.
"I think we'll match the performance of 2000, which is significant given the economic situation and the levels of mistrust about government in general that didn't exist in 2000," says Steven Jost, associate director for communications. A Pew Research Center survey out this week shows that only 22% of Americans said they can trust the government in Washington most of the time, among the lowest measures in half a century.
The Census mail-back period officially ended Friday, but forms are expected to trickle in at least through the end of this week. That could push the rate over 72%. Starting May 1, 650,000 Census workers will visit every home that did not return a form, at an average cost of $56 a household. Matching the 2000 participation rate would save $425 million.
"I would consider 71% already a very serious accomplishment," says Kenneth Prewitt, Census Bureau director in 2000, now professor at Columbia University. "If it does hit 72%, it's even better."
The cost of the Census has increased from $8.2 billion in 2000 in current dollars to an estimated $14.7 billion.
The government's goal is to get people to mail back their questionnaires rather than send a Census worker to collect the information. Reason: Taxpayers save $85 million for every additional percentage point of mail-back response.
Census population counts are used to allocate $435 billion a year in federal funds to communities. They are also used to determine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bureau had budgeted for a mail-back rate of 67%. The higher response is a welcome bonus.
"We are bigger. We are more diverse," Jost says. "And we have high rates of vacancies and foreclosures. All those things make the job tougher."
•The top states: Wisconsin at 80%; Minnesota, 78%; Iowa, 77%; Indiana, 76%; and Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nebraska at 75%.
•The laggards: Alaska at 60%; New Mexico, 61%; Louisiana, 62%; West Virginia, 63%; and Hawaii and Oklahoma at 64%.
The Census launched a $133 million national advertising campaign. About 60% of the ad dollars spent on the door to door phase of the Census are targeting hard-to-count groups in the largest media markets.
For example, among the top markets to reach blacks are New York and New Orleans; Brownsville, Texas, and Albuquerque for Hispanics; and Las Vegas and Houston for Asians.
"The toughest part of the country to get a response from are dense, urban areas," Jost says, and areas with more renters and less education.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
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