U.S. Census Bureau Extends 2020 Census Self-Response and Field Operations through October 31

(October 6, 2020) Baltimore, MD – Following an extension last week by the U.S. Census Bureau to continue counting households through October 5 as part of the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that self-response and field operations will continue through October 31.  

This additional extension will allow local governments, local Census Complete Count Committees and their partners in Maryland, as well as the U.S. Census Bureau enumerators, to target the remaining Maryland households that have yet to complete their 2020 Census.

As of Saturday, October 3, Maryland is in ninth place in self-response rate in the U.S. for the 2020 Census with 70.9 percent of all Maryland households filling out their 2020 Census online, by mail, or by phone. Additionally, 28.8 percent of Maryland households have been counted by U.S. Census Bureau enumerators for a total of 99.7 percent. Maryland is also ranked fourth in the U.S. in Internet response. Carroll County leads the state with a self-response rate of 81.4%, ranking 24th in the U.S. out of more than 3,200 counties.

“With this extra time, our goal remains the same - we will continue to support efforts to get all Marylanders counted,” said Planning Secretary Rob McCord. “We thank everyone that took their time to fill out their 2020 Census and we will continue our work with our local Complete Count Committees to reach as many households as possible.”

Every Marylander counted represents more than $18,250 over the next decade in federal funding for programs including Medicare and Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), school construction, emergency preparedness, and transportation projects. Census data also informs public health and vaccines. The Census forms the basis for reapportionment and redistricting and a complete count ensures that Maryland receives appropriate representation in Congress.

“As a result of court orders, the October 5, 2020 target date is not operative, and data collection operations will continue through October 31, 2020,” the U.S. Census Bureau said in a statement last week. “Employees should continue to work diligently and enumerate as many people as possible.” 

Maryland adopted a 21st-century approach to the 2020 Census. In addition to significant outreach on social media and as part of virtual and limited in-person events, Planning created several online tools to identify areas that require additional outreach. Governor Hogan, Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, and First Lady Yumi Hogan all recorded Public Service Announcements about the 2020 Census, which can be found on the Maryland Census website at census.maryland.gov.

Planning also created a unique Low Response Score and Hard to Count dashboard, which displayed socioeconomic and demographic profiles of selected Census tracts, which allows staff to target strategies to improve the Census response rates. Planning also worked with the Maryland Food Bank to include informative flyers in meal distribution boxes across the state.

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