MINNEAPOLIS — There's now one month remaining for Americans to be counted in the 2020 census.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's revised schedule, self-responses must be completed by phone, mail, or online by September 30.
Census takers are also visiting households that have not yet responded. The bureau plans to complete that work by September 30 as well.
As of August 29, the Census Bureau reports 87.9% of Minnesota households have completed the census so far. The number includes 73.8% of households who self-responded, the highest rate in the nation. The remaining 14% of household responses were from in-person visits by census takers, a number which is lower than the national total of 16.9%.
Hennepin County commissioners have expressed concern about the low rate of response to the home visits.
“Even missing just 10% of households in Hennepin County would deeply impact our community. We would be missing more than 50,000 households and over 120,000 people,” Commissioner Irene Fernando said in a statement.
The population counts taken in the census determine federal funding levels to local communities, as well as the number of congressional seats assigned to each state.
“We know Minneapolis is facing a budget shortfall because of COVID-19 so it is imperative we get an accurate census count. We are in great need of federal support so that we can help businesses that have closed and workers who been laid off. We also need help rebuilding our city, which has experienced so much civil unrest in the past few months,” Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said in a statement.
The census can be completed online at my2020census.gov or by calling toll-free 844-330-2020.
The state of Minnesota also has a website with more information on the importance of completing the census.
