Whatcom’s response rate to 2020 U.S. Census off to good start, except in these cities
Way to go Whatcom County — you not only stayed home during Washington state’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order to slow the spread of coronavirus, you made your time count.
Apparently, more than half of you paused Netflix’s “Tiger King” long enough to complete your 2020 Census questionnaires, according to response rates published online by the U.S. Census Bureau.
As of Tuesday, April 7, Whatcom County’s online self-response rate was 52.6% of households, the website reported — slightly ahead of the state’s 51.1% response rate and well above of the national average of 46.2%.
Whatcom County had a final self-response rate of 67.6% during the 2010 Census, according to the website.
Despite the county’s impressive rate, not every city in the county is as impressive. According to the data:
▪ Lynden has a 58.4% response rate.
▪ Bellingham has a 58.1% response rate.
▪ Ferndale has a 56.1% response rate.
▪ Blaine has a 50.6% response rate.
▪ Nooksack has a 49.4% response rate.
▪ Everson has a 47.7% response rate.
▪ Sumas has a 41.6% response rate.
In addition to providing a snapshot of our communities, 2020 Census data will be used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and draw congressional and state legislative districts, according to the Census Bureau.
Over the next decade, it also will be analyzed by lawmakers, community leaders, business owners and others to make critical decisions, such as where communities need new schools, medical clinics, roads and other services and how to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding per year.
Because of that importance, each household is required by law to respond, and the U.S. Census Bureau will follow up with in-person interviews with those that do not.
Households should have received a notice by March 20 in the mail from the U.S. Census Bureau on how to respond online, by phone or by mail. Other important dates include:
▪ Jan. 21: The Census Bureau began counting the population in rural Alaska.
▪ April 1: Was Census Day — the day used to determine who is counted and where in the 2020 Census. You can respond either before or after that day, but the Census Bureau recommends responding as early as possible.
▪ April 21-May 1: The Census Bureau will count people without a home, contacting people at shelters, soup kitchens and mobile food vans, on streets and living in outdoor locations.
▪ April 16-June 19: Census takers will work with colleges, senior centers, prisons and other facilities that house large numbers of people.
▪ May 27-Aug. 14: Census takers will interview households that haven’t responded online, by phone or by mail.
▪ December: The Census Bureau will deliver apportionment counts to the U.S. President and Congress, as required by law.
▪ March 31, 2021: The Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to states.
