The 2010 Census continues its $326 million marketing push this month with a new tactic to get you to return your 10-question census form - an appeal to your sense of community and competition.
The census officially kicked off April 1, and officials are helpfully letting everyone keep score on the response rate with an interactive online map - at 2010.census.gov - that lets you peek at results from your state and city, right down to your neighborhood.
How are we doing? As of Sunday, North Carolinians had returned 59 percent of the forms mailed out last month, a statistic the census calls the "mail participation rate." That's behind Wisconsin's pace-setting rate of 69 percent, but it's ahead of the national average of 56 percent and well on the way to N.C.'s 2000 participation rate of 66 percent.
South Carolina also checks in at a healthy 57 percent. Alaska (42 percent) and Texas (48 percent) are among those looking up from the bottom.
"We're happy with the numbers so far," said census N.C. spokesman Tony Jones. "We're actually anticipating a big spike, because a lot of people were waiting until April 1 to fill out the forms."
As in previous decades, the 2010 Census results will be used to determine how much money states and cities receive from the federal government, as well as how many congressional seats states gain or lose. North and South Carolina each could pick up an additional congressional seat because of population gains in the past decade. North Carolina received an additional seat after the 2000 Census.
Zoom in on the map, and you'll find the Charlotte area at 56 percent and having the same successes and struggles as much of the country. More affluent neighborhoods and suburbs are among the highest participation rates - areas that include Carmel Country Club and parts of Matthews boasted participation rates in the mid 70s - while census response lags in low-income areas and those with a high percentage of Latinos.
A challenge for communities nationwide: college students. Charlotte's worst participation can be found in the area including UNC Charlotte, at just 37 percent. Students, said Jones, are typically poor performers because of issues such as residences changing and an assumption that their parents are including them on their census forms. (Students should fill out their own form, census officials say.)
People have until mid-April to return their forms; those who mail theirs in after April 15 increase their chances of a visit from a census taker.
As for the lagging communities, the census already has sent out a second round of forms to areas that had poor participation rates in 2000. Also, officials have the next marketing piece ready - an outreach effort to community leaders, including churches and civic groups, to help nudge people into filling out the forms.
If that doesn't work, there's always the celebrity appeal. Census officials have videos at the ready by NASCAR's Greg Biffle, a Mooresville resident, Miss America Caressa Cameron and Donny Osmond.
Source:thesunnews.com/
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