Hunter
04/06/20
You’d think that with little or nothing to do except hang out around the house, Americans would be filling out their Census forms in droves.
That, however, is not the case.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports data from the US Census Bureau shows that the response rate is at about 41 percent, down from the nearly 50 percent at this time ten years ago.
Iowa’s response rate is slightly higher at 42 percent, but corridor counties are doing better than that. Johnson County response rate is over 48 percent and Linn County is at about 50 percent.
Organizations that depend on census count for funding of their projects are concerned about the overall drop in responses, while others are concerned about getting an accurate count of Iowa’s student population. The census also determines the number of representatives each state has in Congress.
Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan tells the Gazette that normally about half of the UI students list Iowa City as their home, while the others list their parents’ residence. With nearly all students back at home, Sullivan feels they might be less inclined to list Iowa as their home.
Those who were mailed a Census form have the option of responding online, by phone, or return mail by August 14th.
