By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Since people are at home and have the time, the one thing that appears residents are doing is filling out the 2020 U.S. Census.

At least in the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming with the U.S. Census reporting through its interactive response rate map that both cities have already surpassed their 2010 U.S. Census overall response rate. As of May 18, 2020, the City of Kentwood is at 74.1 self-response rate. In 2010, its overall response rate was 73. The City of Wyoming’s 2020 self-response rate is 72.5, just slightly over its 2010 overall response rate of 72.4.

According to recent reports, about 59.5 percent of the U.S. households in the United States have self-responded, meaning that residents have either mailed, called in or gone online to answer the nine questions that center around who was living in the home on April 1, 2020. 

This is about 88 million households that have responded. For the 2010 census, it was about 74 percent mail in rate (the 2010 U.S. Census did not have an online component) with about 116.7 million households responding to the census. The total population report for the 2010 U.S. Census was 308.7 million of which about 300.8 million were living in homes and the remaining 8 million lived in group quarters such as school domentories, nursing homes, and military barracks. 

So where does Michigan stand?

Michigan ranks fourth with 66.2 percent or 3.2 million households responding. In the 2010 U.S. Census, the state had a total of 67.7 percent response. Despite having cities with some of the highest participation rates in the 2010 U.S. Census, Michigan had a population drop of about 54,000 going from 9.938 million in 2000 to about 9.883 million in 2010. 

Due to the population drop, Michigan lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, going from 15 to 14. According to state officials, the goal for the 2020 U.S. Census is for its population to be enough to maintain its current 14 U.S. House of Representative seats.

“The state has been growing, but not growing as quickly as Texas, Florida, or North Carolina,” said Michigan Statewide Census director Kerry Ebersole. “So we have the opportunity to maintain which we have in congress but it is unlikely we will pick up an additional seat.”

Keeping those seats are even more important as Michigan goes against other states for relief funding from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s important that Michigan voices are heard,” Ebersole said, “that we have a voice and representation at the federal level especially as policies are developed that may impact our state.”

And it is not just policies related to COVID-19 relief, but also for programs for the Great Lakes, Medicare, literacy, the elderly and city infrastructure such as the parks and roads.

It is all about the numbers

“The two things that the census influences are dollars and how many U.S. Representatives the state will have in Washington D.C.” said Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley in an interview about the U.S. Census before the statewide COVID-19 state of emergency order.

Funding dollars are largely determined by a municipality’s population and while looking at how the Michigan Department of Transportation determines funding, Kepley noted that 50,000 seemed to be a magic number that would increase a municipality’s funding for roads. The U.S. Census currently estimates that the City of Kentwood’s population is around 51,868 which means Kentwood needs to do a “good” job in getting residents to respond to the 2020 Census.

Which according to the 2020 U.S. Census Interactive Map, Kentwood residents have done quite well in self-responding. As of Monday, May 18, 2020, the City of Kentwood has had 74.1 percent self-response of which 65.7 have been online responses. Of course, there are still a number of factors in determining the overall funding any municipality will receive.

“If we do better in getting the word out and showing an increase, it could be that we are taking money away from another city that may not have done as well doing that,” Kepley said, adding if everyone does well then, it also will have an impact on the dollars Kentwood could receive.

But having residents fill out the U.S. Census is important, Kepley said as it impacts what the city can provide in city infrastructure such as roads and parks, low and moderate housing, and even attracting future businesses which use census information as a component to determining where to locate.

More numbers

Along with the City of Kentwood and the City of Wyoming. which has a self-response rate of 72.5 of which 63.5 were online (as of May 18, 2020), the overall Kent County self response rate has been above the U.S. average of 59.5 percent. As of May 18, 2020, it was at 73.3 percent total of self-reporting of which 64.1 percent were online. In 2010, the county had a total response rate of 73.6 percent.

Some other municipalities numbers as of May 18, 2020:

City of Grand Rapids: 65.6 percent of which 54.5 were online. In 2010, it had a response rate of 69.7.

City of Grandville: 81.1 percent of which 73.4 were online. In 2010, it had a response rate of 79.8.

Caledonia Township: 81 percent of which 73.6 were online. In 2010, it had a response rate of 81.2.

Byron Township: 79.9 percent of which 72.5 were online. In 2010, it had a response rate of 76.3

Still time to respond

Due to the COVID-19 and a majority of the nation placed on lockdown to help prevent the spread, the U.S. Census Bureau announced it has delayed the counts. U.S. lawmakers still need to sign off on the new schedule.

According to the U.S. Census website, residents will have until Oct. 31 to self-respond. Non-response follow-up with census fieldworkers going out will be Aug. 11 to Oct. 31. The U.S. Census Bureau is pushing back the 2020 U.S. Census report to the president from Dec. 31, 2020 to April 30, 2021 with the president delivering the counts to Congress within 14 days. States would receive numbers for redistricting by July 31, 2021 instead of April 1, 2021. 

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