In a Census briefing held on June 23, Granville County had moved up on a listing of state response rankings, in large part due to a countywide mailing that reached more than 26,000 households. The local appeal, in the form of a letter signed by Granville County Addressing/GIS Manager Sandy Woody and approved by the Board of Commissioners at their June 1 meeting, was intended to boost participation in the 2020 Census.
As a result of this effort, the mailing was singled out by the North Carolina State Data Center and the N.C. Counts Coalition as being instrumental in helping move the county from #21 into the #16 spot in a ranking of statewide participation.
“Granville County wanted to be proactive,” it was said in the briefing. “Locals know their communities and how to reach them, and local folks respond to people they know.”
There are three ways to respond to the 2020 Census – by mail, by phone, and (for the first time ever) online, with responses being accepted in thirteen languages. By mid-June, more than 90 million U.S. households had responded (61.4 percent). Almost 80 percent of those responses were made through online participation, with 1.3 percent responding by phone and 18.7 percent responding through paper questionnaires.
As of July 14, the 2020 Census response rate in Granville County was 62.3 percent, compared to North Carolina’s rate of 58.3 percent. Locally, the Town of Stem continues to lead the way with 69.9 percent of residents participating, followed by the City of Creedmoor, the City of Oxford, the Town of Butner and the Town of Stovall.
Mandated by the U.S. Constitution and conducted every ten years, the Census is used to determine how billions of dollars in federal and state funding is distributed. Appropriations for roads, schools, hospitals, emergency services and many other community needs are determined by population, which is reflected through Census data.
“We all know how important this is for federal and state dollars, as we’re seeing this through the COVID-19 crisis,” said Board of Commissioners Chair David T. Smith. “Let’s all do our part to make Granville County count.”
Self responses will be collected through Oct. 31 and Census workers will begin visiting households beginning Aug. 11. Please note that households that receive mail through a Post Office box should provide their street address (not their PO box number) when responding to ensure that their response is associated with a physical location where they live, not where they receive mail.
To respond by phone, call 844-330-2020. Online responses can be made through my2020census.gov. To learn more about Census 2020, please visit www.census.gov.