EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:35 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 19, 2000 (TUESDAY)
Decennial Media Relations CB00-CN.57 301-457-3691/301-457-3620 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: 2000usa@census.gov"Well Done, America!"
Nation Achieves 67 Percent Response Rate in Census 2000,Two Points Higher Than 1990Nearly 7 of 10 homes in the United States filled out and returned a Census 2000 questionnaire for a final response rate of 67 percent, 2 percentage points over the rate for the 1990 census, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau. For the first time in history, the response rate improved over the immediately prior census.
Thirteen of the nation's 15 most populous cities equaled or exceeded their 1990 response rates as did 14 of the 15 most populous counties. Five states and nearly 9,300 other governmental units did even better, meeting a Census Bureau challenge to better their 1990 response rates by 5 percentage points or more.
"Well done, America!" said Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. "This successful once-in-a-decade civic ceremony was a great way to start the new century as the nation came together to participate. Americans from all walks of life heard the call and responded."
Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Robert J. Shapiro said, "Census 2000 mobilized and energized over 140,000 civic, religious, business and neighborhood organizations to reach out to tens of millions of families. This census was a model of civic engagement by the government."
"Civic obligation, contrary to skeptical voices, is alive and well across America's communities," said Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt. "The nation ended a three-decade decline in response rates; it even reversed that decline. In 1970, the response rate was 78 percent; in 1980, 75 percent; and in 1990, 65 percent. For 2000, the prediction was that it would only be 61 percent. In this context, the 67 percent response rate is an unexpected, extraordinary public achievement."
The updated rate represents the percentage of housing units that mailed back a questionnaire, filed it over the Internet, completed a form over the telephone or returned a "Be Counted" form obtained from a neighborhood assistance center. Prewitt noted that the public continued to return questionnaires well past the mid-April cutoff in numbers exceeding anything seen in past censuses.
America's response exceeded the expectations of the Congress, the General Accounting Office and the Census Bureau itself. The higher-than-expected mail return of census forms had a major, positive impact on the follow-up phase of the census in May and June when census-takers went door-to-door to obtain a completed questionnaire for households who did not initially respond.
"Our census-takers had fewer households to contact, allowing us to concentrate our staff and improve our follow-up operations," Prewitt said. "A good census got better when our census-takers found the same public spirit during this phase. People wanted to be included."
Nation's Largest Cities Beat Their 1990 Rates
Of America's 15 most populous cities, 13 equaled or exceeded their 1990 rate. In addition, 73 of the 100 most populous cities equaled or beat their 1990 rate.
RESPONSE RATES OF 15 MOST POPULOUS CITIES ( July 1, 1998, population rank order)
Rank City Population 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 New York City 7,420,166 53% 55% +2 2 Los Angeles 3,597,556 60% 64% +4 3 Chicago 2,802,079 54% 55% +1 4 Houston 1,786,691 56% 61% +5 5 Philadelphia 1,436,287 57% 57% 0 6 San Diego 1,220,666 67% 73% +6 7 Phoenix 1,198,064 60% 64% +4 8 San Antonio 1,114,130 67% 68% +1 9 Dallas 1,075,894 57% 62% +5 10 Detroit 970,196 57% 62% +5 11 San Jose 861,284 69% 74% +5 12 San Francisco 745,774 64% 68% +4 13 Indianapolis 741,304 70% 64% -6 14 Jacksonville 693,630 59% 65% +6 15 Columbus 670,234 71% 67% -4 Thirty-eight of the nation's most populous cities achieved response rates above the national average of 67 percent. One city with a 1 million-plus population had a rate above 70 percent -- San Diego, with a rate of 73 percent or 6 percentage points above its 1990 response rate.
HIGHEST ACHIEVERS OF 100 MOST POPULOUS CITIES (Ranked by Census 2000 response rate)
Rank City Population 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 Chesapeake city, Va. 199,564 71% 78% +7 2 Lincoln city, Neb. 213,088 75% 77% +2 2 Hialeah city, Fla. 211,392 71% 77% +6 2 Madison city, Wis. 209,306 80% 77% -3 2 Fremont city, Calif. 204,298 71% 77% +6 2 Huntington Beach city, Calif. 195,316 70% 77% +7 7 Plano city, Texas 219,486 76% 76% 0 7 Glendale city, Calif. 185,086 70% 76% +6 9 Virginia Beach city, Va. 432,380 69% 75% +6 9 Santa Ana city, Calif. 305,955 61% 75% +14 9 Anaheim city, Calif. 295,153 64% 75% +11 12 San Jose city, Calif. 861,284 69% 74% +5 12 St. Paul city, Minn. 257,284 71% 74% +3 14 San Diego city, Calif. 1,220,666 67% 73% +6 14 Omaha city, Neb. 371,291 71% 73% +2 14 Aurora city, Colo. 250,604 63% 73% +10 Two California cities -- Santa Ana and Anaheim -- and Boston, on the other side of the country, led the nation's largest cities in gains between 1990 and 2000. Three other large California cities also made the list of those showing the greatest gains among the nation's 100 largest cities. Below we show the top 14.
100 MOST POPULOUS CITIES BY GREATEST CHANGE (Ranked by differences between 1990 and 2000)
Rank City Population 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 Santa Ana city, Calif. 305,955 61% 75% +14 2 Anaheim city, Calif. 295,153 64% 75% +11 2 Boston city, Mass. 555,447 46% 57% +11 4 Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. 510,274 57% 67% +10 4 Aurora city, Colo. 250,604 63% 73% +10 6 Oakland city, Calif. 365,874 57% 65% +8 6 Riverside city, Calif. 262,140 64% 72% +8 6 Anchorage city, Alaska 254,982 54% 62% +8 6 Baton Rouge city, La. 211,551 53% 61% +8 10 Arlington city, Texas 306,497 61% 68% +7 10 Chesapeake city, Va. 199,564 71% 78% +7 10 Huntington Beach city, Calif. 195,316 70% 77% +7 10 Jackson city, Miss. 188,419 59% 66% +7 10 Denver city, Colo. 499,055 63% 70% +7
Largest Counties Also Beat Their 1990 Response RateAll but one of the 15 most populous counties surpassed their 1990 rate. In the top 100, 82 counties equaled or beat their 1990 rates.
RESPONSE RATES FOR 15 MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES (July 1, 1999, population rank order)
Rank County Population 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 Los Angeles County, Calif. 9,329,989 64% 70% +6 2 Cook County, Ill. 5,192,326 63% 65% +2 3 Harris County, Texas 3,250,404 59% 64% +5 4 Maricopa County, Ariz. 2,861,395 62% 65% +3 5 San Diego County, Calif. 2,820,844 68% 73% +5 6 Orange County, Calif. 2,760,948 69% 76% +7 7 Kings County, N.Y. 2,268,297 49% 51% +2 8 Miami-Dade County, Fla. 2,175,634 61% 65% +4 9 Wayne County, Mich. 2,106,495 68% 72% +4 10 Dallas County, Texas 2,062,100 60% 65% +5 11 Queens County, N.Y. 2,000,642 58% 54% -4 12 San Bernardino County, Calif. 1,669,934 63% 68% +5 13 King County, Wash. 1,664,846 69% 71% +2 14 Santa Clara County, Calif. 1,647,419 71% 75% +4 15 New York County, N.Y. 1,551,844 52% 60% +8 Two of the nation's most populous counties -- Macomb County, Mich., and Fairfax County, Va. -- achieved response rates of better than 80 percent and others had rates in the high 70s. Four counties of 1 million-plus population show up on the list of the highest achievers among the nation's 100 largest.
HIGHEST ACHIEVERS OF 100 MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES (Ranked by Census 2000 response rate)
Rank County Population 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 Macomb County, Mich. 792,082 81% 81% 0 2 Fairfax County, Va. 945,717 76% 80% +4 3 Oakland County, Mich. 1,179,978 77% 79% +2 3 St. Louis County, Mo. 996,181 77% 79% +2 5 DuPage County, Ill. 892,547 75% 78% +3 6 Hennepin County, Minn. 1,064,419 75% 77% +2 6 Montgomery County, Md. 852,174 76% 77% +1 8 Orange County, Calif. 2,760,948 69% 76% +7 8 Ventura County, Calif. 745,063 76% 76% 0 8 Montgomery County, Pa. 724,087 77% 76% -1 8 Monroe County, N.Y. 712,419 77% 76% -1 8 Bucks County, Pa. 594,047 75% 76% +1 13 Santa Clara County, Calif. 1,647,419 71% 75% +4 13 Contra Costa County, Calif. 933,141 71% 75% +4 13 Bergen County, N.J. 857,052 72% 75% +3 13 San Mateo County, Calif. 702,102 70% 75% +5 13 Norfolk County, Mass. 643,580 70% 75% +5
Some of the nation's most populous counties -- including eight with 1 million or more people -- showed the greatest change between 1990 and 2000 among the 100 largest.
100 MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES BY GREATEST CHANGE (Ranked by differences between 1990 and 2000)
Rank County Population 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 Suffolk County, Mass. 641,695 47% 58% +11 2 Davidson County, Tenn. 530,050 57% 67% +10 3 New York County, N.Y. 1,551,844 52% 60% +8 4 Orange County, Calif. 2,760,948 69% 76% +7 4 Duval County, Fla. 738,483 59% 66% +7 4 Middlesex County, Mass. 1,426,606 67% 74% +7 4 Alameda County, Calif. 1,415,582 65% 72% +7 4 Tarrant County, Texas 1,382,442 62% 69% +7 4 DeKalb County, Ga. 596,853 65% 72% +7 4 Gwinnett County, Ga. 545,632 67% 74% +7 11 Riverside County, Calif. 1,530,653 59% 65% +6 11 Palm Beach County, Fla. 1,049,420 58% 64% +6 11 Kern County, Calif. 642,495 60% 66% +6 11 Lake County, Ill. 617,975 69% 75% +6 11 Los Angeles County, Calif. 9,329,989 64% 70% +6 11 Fresno County, Calif. 763,069 63% 69% +6 11 Essex County, Mass. 704,407 64% 70% +6 11 Multnomah County, Ore. 633,224 66% 72% +6 11 Cobb County, Ga. 583,541 66% 72% +6
Response Rates Highest in MidwestFollowing the pattern of previous censuses, midwestern states led the nation in responding to the census. Iowa, with a response rate of 76 percent, was the highest, followed closely by Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin at 75 percent and South Dakota at 74 percent. In all, 14 states had a response rate of 70 percent or more; nine were in the Midwest, two were in the Northeast, two in the West and one in the South.
STATES WITH A CENSUS 2000 RESPONSE RATE
OF 70 PERCENT OR HIGHERRank State 2000 Response Rate 1 Iowa 76% 2 Minnesota 75% 2 Nebraska 75% 2 Wisconsin 75% 5 South Dakota 74% 6 Ohio 72% 6 Virginia 72% 6 North Dakota 72% 9 Michigan 71% 9 Kansas 71% 11 California 70% 11 Colorado 70% 11 Connecticut 70% 11 Pennsylvania 70%
While the states with the highest response tended to be in the Midwest, the states with the greatest gains since 1990 were all located in other regions."90 Plus 5" Achievers
Five states met the Census Bureau's "90 Plus 5" challenge issued to communities across the nation by Prewitt last January: California (70 percent), Massachusetts (69 percent), Rhode Island (67 percent) and Nevada and Wyoming (both at 66 percent). The "90 Plus 5" campaign challenged governmental units across the country to increase their Census 2000 response rates by at least 5 percentage points over 1990. Including these states, 9,294 governmental units met or exceeded this goal: 420 counties, 8,837 cities and 32 tribal areas.
STATES BY GREATEST CHANGE Rank State 1990 Response Rate 2000 Response Rate Difference between 1990 and 2000 1 California 65% 70% +5 1 Massachusetts 64% 69% +5 1 Rhode Island 62% 67% +5 1 Nevada 61% 66% +5 1 Wyoming 61% 66% +5 6 Connecticut 66% 70% +4 6 New Hampshire 63% 67% +4 6 District of Columbia 56% 60% +4 6 Alaska 52% 56% +4 10 Colorado 67% 70% +3 10 New Jersey 65% 68% +3 10 Texas 61% 64% +3 10 Maine 58% 61% +3
View the response rates for states, counties, cities, tribal areas and census tracts on the Census Bureau's Web site <http://www.census.gov>.Detailed tables are included in a special supplement to the news release available on the Internet http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/frrtables.pdf and from the Public Information Office on 301-457-3691.
3. Highest Achievers: 100 Most Populous Counties
4. 100 Most Populous Counties by Greatest Change
5. Highest Achievers: 100 Most Populous Cities
6. 100 Most Populous Cities by Greatest Change
7. Summary of Census 2000 Response Rate Achievements of Cities, Places and Townships by State
Reference Notes to Census 2000 Response Rates
MAPS
Final Response Rates for the United States (full color) (black & white)
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