The U.S. Census Bureau is working in Champaign County to complete the 2020 Census by Sept. 30. Field data operations are underway with census takers visiting households throughout the county that have not responded to the 2020 Census. Prior to their deployment into local communities, census takers underwent COVID-19 training on social distancing and related health and safety protocols. The Census Bureau provided face masks to every census taker and mandated that all census takers wear one. In addition, census takers carry an ID badge that includes their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date.
Through the end of September, households can continue to respond online at www.2020census.gov, on paper, by calling 1-844-330-2020 or in person with a census taker.
“We are taking steps and adapting our operations to make sure everyone is counted, while keeping everyone safe,” said Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven Dillingham. “Our commitment to a complete and accurate 2020 Census is absolute. In this challenging environment, we are deploying these tactics to make sure that we reach every household in every community. If you haven’t responded, the time to respond is now.”
The results of the 2020 Census will be the basis for congressional representation and will determine how $675 billion in federal funds are distributed each year to support vital programs in communities across the country.
On a local level, the impact of responding to the 2020 Census is about $1,800 per person that will come directly to the local community, and these funds shape health care, education and transportation.
As of Sept. 2, the national self-response rate to the 2020 Census was 65.2%, and 69.3% for the state of Ohio.
Locally, 2020 self-response rates are as follows (with 2010 self-response rates shown in parentheses): Champaign County is at 72.1% (70.0%), Urbana is at 69.5% (69.3%), Mechanicsburg is at 71.9% (71.2%), North Lewisburg is at 66.0% (57.2%), Saint Paris is at 62.4% (67.8%), Woodstock is at 70.1% (33.3%), and Christiansburg is at 38.7% (71.8%).
To date, Champaign County has the 29th best self-response rate of 88 Ohio counties. Regionally, the self-response rate in surrounding counties is as follows: Logan County is at 61.1%, Shelby County is at 73.6%, Miami County is at 75.9%, Clark County is at 68.9%, Madison County is at 73.0%, and Union County is at 78.0%.
As of Sept. 2, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 84.9% of housing units have been enumerated nationally with 19.7% being counted by census takers and the remaining 65.2% of households self-responding.
