West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
SUPPORT THE RAG

Search the site

No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
SUPPORT THE RAG

Upper West Side Has a B-Minus Response Rate to the Census; Let’s Do Better!

August 12, 2020 | 1:56 PM
in NEWS
4

The Trump administration announced it was moving up the deadline for in-person responses to the 2020 Census to Sept. 30 from Oct. 31, a move that Democrats say will result in vulnerable groups being undercounted.

Most people respond to the Census by mail or online, as opposed to being visited by a worker. On the Upper West Side, the response rate has been pretty good but not great. About one-third of the Census tracts in the neighborhood are trending above the national average of 63.4%. Other areas are doing much worse. In one section of Morningside Heights, the response rate is 32%.

Some might say that the Upper West Side is doing “good enough.” But given that this is clearly a great neighborhood, it’s time to either mail those Census forms in, respond by phone at 844-330-2020, or just fill them out online. Getting an accurate count will lead to getting our fair share from the federal budget and it impacts other crucial issues like political redistricting — fewer people means fewer congressional reps.

You can dive into the response rates here.

And here’s what you can expect if a Census taker shows up at your apartment:

What Households Can Expect

In most cases, census workers will make up to six attempts at each housing unit address to count possible residents. This includes leaving notification of the attempted visit on the door. The notification will include reminder information on how to respond online, by paper or by phone. In addition, census workers may try to reach the household by phone to conduct the interview.

Census takers will go to great lengths to ensure that no one is missed in the census. After exhausting their efforts to do an in-person interview with a resident of an occupied housing unit, they will seek out proxy sources — a neighbor, a rental agent, a building manager or some other knowledgeable person familiar with the housing unit — to obtain as much basic information about the occupants as they can.

Census takers are hired from local communities. All census takers speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language.

How to Identify Census Takers

Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact their regional census center to speak with a Census Bureau representative.

The Census Bureau Will Follow Up With Some Households by Phone

In order to minimize the need to send census takers to households in person, the Census Bureau is training census takers to follow up with households by phone. Using information provided to the Census Bureau and third-party purchased data, the Census Bureau has a strong contact list for both landlines and cellphones assigned to houses on the Census Bureau’s address list. These phone calls will enable the Census Bureau to have maximum flexibility for conducting field operations, and is one more method that census takers can use to reach nonresponding households. Phone calls will be used on an as-needed basis and when in-person contact attempts have not resulted in an interview. If a voicemail is available, the census taker will leave a message asking the household to call one of the Census Bureau’s call centers.

Census Response Representatives to Visit Low-Responding Areas

The Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program will continue through Sept. 30. This is a separate activity from census takers going door to door. MQA representatives are in open, public places in the lowest-responding areas of the nation to encourage people to respond to the 2020 Census. These locations are where people naturally visit when leaving home and can be used to help increase self-response rates. MQA is part of the Census Bureau’s final push to encourage people to complete the 2020 Census.

About the 2020 Census

The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone who lives in the United States on April 1, 2020 (Census Day). Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and inform how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years.

For more information, visit 2020census.gov.

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

4 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Carnival Canticle
Carnival Canticle
4 years ago

How, in the middle of a pandemic, are census workers expected to knock on doors and speak face to face with strangers, exposing everybody involved to the the possibility of infection? How are householders in a city like New York expected to open the door to strangers who might be from ICE or another threat to their immigration status? I absolutely understand the need for an accurate count, but the Census Bureau seems to think that the U.S. is one big Mayberry. Its cheery commercials featuring middle-class families greeting Census workers on their rose-covered front porches is an indication that, once again, cities will be under-counted. I filled out my form as soon as I received it in the mail but I am educated enough to realize it was neither junk mail nor a notice from a hostile government agency. (Depending on what one considers hostile.)

0
Reply
nemo paradise
nemo paradise
4 years ago
Reply to  Carnival Canticle

I think we should do it like the old Romans, and require every citizen to return to their place of birth to be counted.

0
Reply
Paul of NYC
Paul of NYC
4 years ago

I prefer filling out a paper form and chose that as my way of being counted. I’m still waiting for my form to arrive in the mail.

0
Reply
lynn
lynn
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul of NYC

I mailed several cards at the mailbox located on 72nd and WEA on August 5th (including an absentee ballot request), and shortly after I saw a truck came by and remove the mailbox and replace it with another one. The recipients still didn’t get my mail. I called the post office and went online but as of yet I have not been able to reach a human being. Anyone know what that was all about?

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

Don’t Miss the Gorilla: Walking Like You Belong on the Upper West Side
COLUMNS

Don’t Miss the Gorilla: Walking Like You Belong on the Upper West Side

July 19, 2025 | 6:08 AM
Multiple Upper West Side Construction Street Closures to Know About
NEWS

Multiple Upper West Side Construction Street Closures to Know About

July 18, 2025 | 12:07 PM
Previous Post

Men Living in Homeless Hotels Will Return to Shelters ‘When Appropriate,’ Mayor Says, But What Will Happen to the Hotels?

Next Post

A 3rd Target Store is Coming to a Not-Too-Distant Corner

this week's events image
Next Post
A 3rd Target Store is Coming to a Not-Too-Distant Corner

A 3rd Target Store is Coming to a Not-Too-Distant Corner

Manhattan Real Estate Update: Schools are Back, So Does Real Estate Follow?

Manhattan Real Estate Update: Schools are Back, So Does Real Estate Follow?

With $13,000+ in Community Support, Han’s Market Upgrades and Keeps on Serving the UWS

With $13,000+ in Community Support, Han's Market Upgrades and Keeps on Serving the UWS

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.