As you all know, we are in the middle of the decennial census to get an accurate count of all residents in the United Stated. I wanted to take a moment to provide a quick update on the Census count and to also provide resources and information in case you should get any Census related calls.
First, the mail participation rate in Contra Costa County is over 50%….this is great news given “Census Day” is officially April 1. Below are the response rates as of today. The Census Bureau has a great website (http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/) that tracks all the mail participation rate down to the Census Tract level. This has been a great tool to identify areas that might need a little extra push to get their forms into the mail.
National: 50%
California: 48%
Contra Costa county 52%
Antioch: 48%
Brentwood: 54%
Clayton: 61%
Concord: 51%
Danville: 57%
El Cerrito: 56%
Hercules: 51%
Lafayette: 60%
Martinez: 57%
Moraga: 63%
Oakley: 48%
Orinda: 61%
Pinole: 55%
Pittsburg: 46%
Pleasant Hill: 55%
Richmond: 44%
San Pablo: 42%
San Ramon: 52%
Walnut Creek: 59%
Second, we have received a number of calls that a household’s zip code or city name is incorrect on the form. The following is the Census Bureau’s Response to this issue;
If your form has the wrong city name or ZIP code, the actual location of your address has been verified for accuracy and assigns your data to the correct geographic area
- The address on your census form or advance letter may not list the city name you identify with or are used to seeing on your mail. This is a result of an efficiency cost-saving measure that streamlines how the forms are sorted and delivered to you by the U.S. Postal Service. However, it will NOT affect which city, town or block your household’s responses will be assigned to.
- Contained in the barcodes on your form is information about the correct geographic location to which your housing unit belongs. This geographic information was verified last year by census workers who physically located each housing unit on the ground and assigned the housing units a “geocode” using special census maps and GPS coordinates.
- In addition, the Census Bureau provided local governments an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the address list we developed for their municipality through the Local Update of Census Addresses or LUCA Program. Most municipal officials verified that the Census Bureau accurately coded each house to the proper municipality, regardless of the address used by the U.S. Postal Service for delivering the mail.
- Please fill out the form for your entire household to make sure that your city, town or block is accurately counted.
Kristine Solseng
Senior GIS Planner
Contra Costa County
Department of Conservation and Development
651 Pine St, 4th Floor – North Wing
Martinez, CA 94553
(925) 313-4371
ksols@cd.cccounty.us
