State falls short in Census numbers

Staff

Published Tuesday, September 26, 2000

Staff Report

Sept. 25, 2000 10 PM

Despite the push by public officials and advertising throughout Alabama, the Census Bureau has reported that 61 percent of the state's residents returned their Census 2000 forms.

That, in yet another category, puts Alabama behind the national average.

The nation's census response rate was 67 percent, two percentage points higher than the return rate in 1990. In other words, nearly 7 of 10 United States homes filled out and returned a questionnaire.

Census Bureau officials challenged the nation to improve upon the 1990 response by at least five percentage points.

That achievement might not have been met, but Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta called the this year's response "a great way to start the new century" because of those who did respond.

"Civic obligation, contrary to skeptical voices, is alive and well across America's communities," said Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt. "The nation ended a three-decade decline in response rates; it even reversed that decline."

Between 1970 and 1990, there was a decrease in the census response rate, but that appears to be on the upswing with the 2000 responses. In 1970, the response rate was 78 percent; in 1980, 75 percent; and 65 percent in 1990. For Census 2000, the predicted response rate was 61 percent, but was actually 67 percent.

Alabama's response rate dropped by one percent from the 1990 census.

Of the 50 states, only Alaska, South Carolina, Louisiana and Hawaii had a lower response rate than Alabama in 2000.

The rate represents the percentage of homes that mailed back questionnaires, filed over the Internet, completed a form over the phone or returned a "Be Counted" form.

Prewitt said the public continued to return questionnaires past the mid-April deadline in numbers that exceeded past censuses. Having more respond by mail, had a significant impact on those census takers who went door to door to those residences which did not initially respond.

"Our census takers had fewer households to contact, allowing us to concentrate our staff and improve our follow-up operations," Prewitt said. "A good census got better when our census takers found the same public spirit during this phase. People wanted to be included."

America's response exceeded the expectations of Congress, the General Accounting Office and the Census Bureau.  

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