Maryland Hits Top Ten for Census Response Rate

Maryland currently ranks 10th nationally for self-response rate, 4th for internet response rate. The Carroll County self-response rate ranks 26th in the U.S. out of more than 3,200 counties.

Governor Larry Hogan today announced that Maryland is now in the top ten for self-response rate for the 2020 Census and continues to encourage all Marylanders to complete their forms at 2020Census.gov. Maryland has a 67.6% self-response rate, well above the national response rate of 63.4%.

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Maryland ranks fourth in the U.S. in internet response. Carroll County leads the state with a self-response rate of 79.2%, ranking 26th in the U.S. out of more than 3,200 counties.

Census data is used to allocate billions of dollars in federal funding for education, health, transportation, housing, community services, and job training. Maryland will lose approximately $18,250 annually for every person not counted.

Moreover, businesses and industries decide where to locate new facilities and services based on census data, creating new jobs and promoting economic growth. Census data also informs reapportionment and redistricting, along with ensuring that Maryland receives appropriate representation in Congress.

As previously reported on Conduit Street, the U.S. Census Bureau this month announced that will end all counting efforts on September 30, one month earlier than originally planned.

“While the Census is about $1.5 trillion dollars in federal spending, including $16 billion to Maryland, the Census is really about us as Marylanders,” said Maryland Department of Planning Secretary Rob McCord. “The Census is about who we are as a state and how many people reside in each community. We count people, not just citizens, and this is our one chance for the next 10 years to paint an accurate portrait of Maryland and each of our communities.”

According to a Maryland Department of Planning press release:

Several statewide and local initiatives are well underway to encourage Marylanders to respond to the Census, and to remind everyone to fill out the Census before September 30, 2020, including:

Coordination among state agencies to leverage all resources to reach Marylanders

Census messaging on buses, billboards, and radio stations

A weekly Census newsletter that reaches more than 41,000 recipients

Social media messaging, including weekly Census Champions

Assistance to local Complete Count Committees to find ways of developing language-specific messaging in order to reach hard-to-count populations

Engagement with business, nonprofit, and faith leaders

Participation in local events, including one this past weekend in Wicomico County, where the Maryland Department of Planning worked with local residents to fill out their 2020 Census.

Maryland has adopted a 21st-century approach to the Census. In addition to the significant outreach on social media and as part of virtual and limited in-person events, Planning created several online tools to identify areas that require additional outreach. Governor Hogan, Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, and First Lady Yumi Hogan all recorded Public Service Announcements about the 2020 Census, which can be found on the Maryland Census website at census.maryland.gov.

Planning created a Low Response Score and Hard to Count dashboard, which displays socioeconomic and demographic profiles of selected Census tracts, which allows staff to target strategies to improve the Census response rates. Additionally, Planning recently added a map of Food Distribution Centers and Census Tracts by Response Rate. This online mapping application displays Maryland food banks and distribution locations in relation to Census tracts, which staff can leverage to reach Marylanders at sites in low response areas. Planning is also working with the Maryland Food Bank to include informative flyers in meal distribution boxes across the state.

Additionally, Census takers have begun visiting homes that haven’t yet responded to the 2020 Census. All Census takers are wearing masks, following Maryland’s public health guidelines, including physical distancing, and wearing an ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date.