2010 Census Going Door to Door

Census workers will be going door to door soon for those who haven't returned their 10 question form that was mailed earlier this year. The census is vital not only in county the number of residents in our community. But it also determines what type of funding we may have access to for community programs, housing, schools, highways and other infrastructure. It is very important that every person is counted.

Response to the mail in survey was fairly good. The national response rate was 72%. The state response was 75% and here in Mitchell County our response rate was 73%. Our neighbors to the south in Saline County had an incredible response rate of 84%.

Despite the good response to the mail in surveys there is a lot more work to be done. Census workers will do their best to go door-to-door to count those who did not response to the mail surveys. They will gather the basic information on the 2010 Census questionnaire by interviewing an adult member of the household. If no one from the household is available, the census taker will make repeated attempts to contact someone in the home.

The follow-up operations will be conducted by official census takers, who will have ID badges with the U.S. Department of Commerce seal and expiration date. They also may be carrying a bag with a U.S. Census Bureau logo. If asked, they will provide the telephone numbers for their supervisor and local census office for verification.