The U.S. Census Bureau completed data collection for the 2020 Census on October 15, 2020. “Every decennial census makes history, but this was like no other in living memory,” said Dr. Steven Dillingham, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau. “Over the coming days, weeks and months, we will provide periodic updates on our post-processing efforts. We are working hard to deliver complete and accurate state population counts as close to the Dec. 31, 2020, statutory deadline as possible.”
All states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico achieved total response rates over 99.0%. All but one state was at or above 99.9%. Compared to the final self-response rate of 66.5% for the 2010 Census, 67% were accounted for through self-response to date, with the rest having been accounted for through our Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation. “Generally, better data comes from self-response, but after a decade of global decline in census and survey participation along with the challenges presented by COVID-19, we had not expected to beat the 2010 self-response rate,”
Dillingham said. “This would not have been possible without our partners and new technologies.” The 2020 Census benefited from the strong support of nearly 400,000 dedicated community and national partners who contributed to our efforts to achieve a complete and accurate count of the nation’s population. The internet proved to be the easiest and preferred option for self-reporting.
2020 Census partners served as trusted voices and census ambassadors within their communities, and their outreach raised awareness of the 2020 Census and encouraged response — particularly among those who have been historically hard to count. When COVID-19 turned everyone’s plans upside down, the partners rose to the occasion with creativity and perseverance. In-person events became virtual events. Outreach turned digital with video messages, Facebook Live events, and other online engagements. Some communities sponsored socially distanced car parades through neighborhoods.
Dillingham said, “With data collection for the 2020 Census concluded, we at the Census Bureau want to keep working with you. We will continue to provide information on the 2020 Census going forward, including to our national partnership and community partnership teams. We encourage you to sign up today to receive updates at 2020census.gov.”
