With one week left, NC Census response lags nation by 3.8 percentage points

Note: As of today, September 22, 2020, the 2020 Census self-response period will officially end on September 30. This end date is still under deliberation, however, and may shift back to October 31, depending upon the outcome of an ongoing legal challenge.

We have one more week to count all North Carolina households in the 2020 Census. Here’s how North Carolina is doing as of September 21st:

1. North Carolina’s response is low compared to other states, both nationally and within the southeast.
   With 62.2% of North Carolina households responding to the census, NC ranked 37th out of 50 states and DC and had a response rate 3.8 percentage points below the national rate. There are five southeastern states with higher self-response rates than North Carolina: Virginia (70.5%), Kentucky (67.7%), Tennessee (65.3%), Florida (62.8%), and Alabama (62.6%).
2. Nearly 400,000 North Carolina housing units need to be counted within the next week to get a complete response.
   Three in 10 North Carolina households have been counted during Non-Response Follow-Up (NRFU). Combined with the state’s self-response rate, 91.8% of North Carolina housing units have been counted – below the national share of 95.4%. This means 8.2% of North Carolina housing units–nearly 400,000 total units–need to be counted within the next week.
3. Young children, rural communities, and communities of color are at risk of an undercount. Across the state, census tracts with low internet access, a high share of minority residents, or a high share of children have, on average, lower response rates, putting these communities at risk of an undercount.

For more information about Census 2020 response in North Carolina and for individual county response details, visit our census tracker.

What can you do?

• Make sure you have completed the 2020 Census. You can respond to the Census online at My2020Census.gov, over the phone by calling  844-330-2020, or through the paper questionnaire received in the mail. 
• Ask your friends and family members if they have completed the 2020 Census.
• Send a note to your neighborhood listserv, NextDoor community, or Facebook group.
• Ask your religious institutions, schools, and other community facilities if they can remind people to fill out the 2020 Census using their displays.
• Write to local newsletters you receive and ask them to add a paragraph about the Census.

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Categories: Census 2020