Census response rates: Midwest high; South, West low

What Parts of the Country Are Diligent About Sending Back Their Census Forms?

What Parts of the Country Are Diligent About Sending Back Their Census Forms?

A partnership of Slate and the New America Foundation.
May 25 2012 6:48 AM

Which Americans Shirk the Census?

A map of census response rates, county by county.

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House Republicans earlier this month voted to end the American Community Survey, a rich source of detailed data about Americans’ lives. But when it comes to the basic census, willingness to answer the federal government’s questions seems to have more to do with where people live than which party they support, as the map below shows. Red or blue, Midwestern counties had 2010 census response rates that exceeded the national rate, while response rates in Western and Southern counties fell short of it.

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