Over the last year, this newsletter has featured a few articles on the importance of the decennial census. From a community indicator perspective, data collected during Census 2020 will be the foundation for estimates until 2030. Ultimately the decennial census is the largest data source for Spokane Trends, both directly (population, educational attainment, etc.) and indirectly (per capita figures such as gross domestic product, personal income and taxable retail sales).
The Census 2020 Response Rates interactive map shows in real-time Census 2020 response rates for the nation, all 50 states (and Puerto Rico), every Congressional District in the U.S. Further, this interactive includes cities (even small cities such as Deer Park, Medical Lake, Rockford, and Waverly) tribal areas, and census tracts. Zoom in on Washington State (or any point on the map) for greater detail.
Before March 20, 2020, the interactive will show the self-response rate of Census 2010. On March 20, it will switch to show the self-response rate for Census 2020.
Households considered self-responders are those receiving their census form through the mail or dropped off by a Census worker. These processes will begin in time for most households to receive their census forms between March 12th and 20th. The self-response rate includes all unduplicated online, regular mail, and phone responses of an area, while excluding any nonresponse follow-ups. No adjustment is made for vacant homes or undeliverable addresses.
Don’t forget to check Census 2020 Response Rates map in the following weeks and months as the numbers get closer to, but never achieving 100%. The national self-response rate during Census 2010 was 74%, with only twenty cities larger than 100,000 residents self-responding at 80% or higher. The army of Bureau of Census workers on the ground are following-up with non-responding households.
For those interested in the tracking any differences of the self-response rates of Census 2010 and 2020 on this website, here were final self-response rates for Census 2010 in the following locations:
- Spokane County was 70.4%
- The City of Spokane was 72.3%.
- The City of Spokane Valley was 72.3%.
- Airway Heights was 58.1%.
- Medical Lake was 68.6%.
- Cheney was 64.3%.
- Spangle was 50.0%.
- Waverly was 61.2%.
- Latah was 26.7%.
- Rockford was 70.5%.
- Fairfield was 72.0%.
- Liberty Lake was 63.6%.
- Deer Park was 64.7%.