U.S. Census Information:

From: Dr. Steven Dillingham, Director, U. S. Census Bureau Director:

We completed data collection for the 2020 Census on Oct. 15.  Every decennial census makes history, but this was like no other in living memory. Over the coming days, weeks and months, we will provide periodic updates on our post-processing efforts. We are working hard to deliver complete and accurate state population counts as close to the Dec. 31, 2020, statutory deadline as possible.   Our first look at the data collection operation indicates an extremely successful execution. We published our total response rates on a daily basis, and they show that we accounted for 99.9% of all addresses in the nation.     (Wood County, WV ended with a 70.4 percent total)    Our final self-response rate for the 2020 Census was 67.0%, compared with the final self-response rate for 2010 of 66.5%. Generally, better data comes from self-response, but after a decade of global decline in census and survey participation along with the challenges presented by COVID-19, we had not expected to beat the 2010 self-response rate. This would not have been possible without our partners and new technologies. The 2020 Census benefited from the strong support of nearly 400,000 dedicated community and national partners who contributed to our efforts to achieve a complete and accurate count of the nation’s population. The Internet proved to be the easiest and preferred option for self-reporting.   Each and every partner played an important role, whether they hung posters in store windows, formed a Complete Count Committee, hosted a Census Solutions Workshop in their community, encouraged their employees to respond, or highlighted why the census is important for their social media followers. These efforts were vital in our shared work to encourage all communities to participate in this once-a-decade constitutional responsibility.    Our partners served as trusted voices and census ambassadors within their communities, and their outreach raised awareness of the 2020 Census and encouraged response — particularly among those who have been historically hard to count.    When COVID-19 turned everyone’s plans upside down, our partners rose to the occasion with creativity and perseverance. In-person events became virtual events. Outreach turned digital with video messages, Facebook Live events, and other online engagements. From America’s largest employers to your local small businesses, to all levels of government, and civic organizations in every community, partners of all kinds stepped up. On behalf of the thousands of employees of the U.S. Census Bureau, thank you, and congratulations on the tremendous impact you made in shaping your community’s future by promoting the 2020 Census.

I would like to thank the members of the Wood County Complete Count Committee and everyone in the county who assisted with activities, publicity and other help in getting the word out about the Census under very trying conditions.  – Pamela Brust, chairwoman/liaison of the Wood County Commission to the Wood County CCC.