Return Rate for Census Forms Rises to 59%

The Census Bureau said Friday that the nation’s lethargic rate of census returns jumped by 2 percentage points in 24 hours to 59%, with Wisconsin, Iowa and other Midwestern states leading the country.

“Stand up and be counted now!” Census Bureau Director Barbara Bryant said. “Fill out and return your 1990 census forms this weekend.”

The 1990 census has been plagued by reports of foul-ups, confusion, missed addresses, housing units that do not show up on official lists, undelivered forms and other problems.

At a news conference Thursday, Bryant warned that the national mail response rate was an alarming 57%--far lower than expected for the nationwide count, held every 10 years.

The government hoped to have a 70% return of the 90 million census forms that were put in the mail at the end of March, and Bryant blamed some of the slow response on “sociological trends such as the dual career couple.”

According to its latest estimates, released Friday, “Wisconsin remains ahead in statewide returns of census forms, with 73.4%, closely followed by Iowa, at 72.2%.”

“Both states added 1 percentage point overnight, while the nationwide tally of census returns jumped 2 points to 59%.”

South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, North Dakota, Indiana and Michigan were close behind, officials said.

In addition, “South Carolina and the District of Columbia crossed the 50% threshold, leaving only Alabama (49.6%) and Alaska (45%) below their halfway points among the states,” the bureau said.