A reminder to all our neighbors to fill our and send in your 2010 Census forms, if you haven't already. That includes all OSU Students living in the campus area. Unless you are currently living at the home of your parents, you should fill out the census form that you receive here at your Columbus address. It is vital to our neighborhood and our state!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 2010
2010 Census Mail Participation Rates in Parts of Ohio Behind Rest of the Nation
Census Bureau Director Robert Groves noted today that some areas are lagging behind the rest of the country in mailing back their 2010 Census forms. With Census Day on April 1, parts of Ohio still have some of the lowest rates of mail participation. Nationally, 50 percent of households have mailed back their forms. But in parts of Ohio, the participation rate is significantly lower, with Cleveland one of the farthest behind at 32 percent.
"We're concerned about the relatively low response from Ohio," said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves. "Every household that fails to send back their census form by mail must be visited by a census taker starting in May - at a significant taxpayer cost. The easiest and best way to be counted in the census is to fill out and return your form by mail."
The emphasis on encouraging mail participation in the census is a practical one. For every percentage point increase in mail response, taxpayers will save an estimated $85 million in federal funds. Those funds would otherwise be required to send census takers to collect census responses in person from households that don't mail back the form. After the 2000 Census, the Census Bureau was able to return $305 million in savings to the federal Treasury because mail rates exceeded expectations — a move the Census Bureau would like to repeat in 2010.
"The 2010 Census is easy, important and safe," Groves said. "It's only 10 questions and should only take about 10 minutes to complete."
Some of the cities in Ohio with low mail participation rates as of Tuesday, March 30, 2010, are listed below, along with the mail participation rates they ultimately achieved in 2000. The national rate in 2000 was 72 percent.
Cincinnati = 39% (Census 2000 = 67%)
Cleveland = 32% (Census 2000 = 63%)
Columbus = 39% (Census 2000 = 70%)
Cleveland = 32% (Census 2000 = 63%)
Columbus = 39% (Census 2000 = 70%)
The Census Bureau is urging communities nationwide to take charge of their census mail participation rates.
Michael S. Brown
Office of Mayor Michael B. Coleman
Urban Ventures Coordinator
614-645-6428