Marion County lags behind both the state and national levels in 2020 census response as we head into June.
The county’s response rate is at just 53.4%, and only 20.2% of those filled out the census online. The county’s 2010 census had a response rate of 58.4%.
The national response rate as of press deadline Thursday was 60.6%, with Mississippi’s being 55.8%, which is 37th in the nation. Minnesota has the country’s best response rate at 70.3%. Alaska has the lowest of the 50 states at just 41.3%.
Marion holds its own against other counties in the area, though, with several under 50%:
- Lamar: 58.6
- Walthall: 51.8
- Covington: 48.4
- Jeff Davis: 45.9
- Lawrence: 44.9
There is a clear trend between more developed counties and their response rate, as well as their response via internet rate. Desoto and Madison counties are tied with a 67.3% response rate with Desoto having a state-high 57.9% internet response and Madison 57.0%. Rankin isn’t far behind at 63.6% response and 52.4% internet response.
Wilkinson County has the lowest self-response at just 24.8% with just 14.0% responding via the internet. Tallahatchie owns the second lowest at 29.7% and has the lowest internet response at 11.1%.
Census information can be filled out online at census.gov or can be mailed in.
The U.S. Census Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the voluntary responses are filed, census workers are sent out to manually count addresses that did not respond. However, that is more costly, so self-reporting is key for the process to run smoothly.
After the manual count, the Bureau uses statistical estimates to determine the final numbers for each geographic area.
