News

As Prince George’s lags in Census response, a last-ditch push to be counted

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With news that the Census may cut-short its door-to-door data collection, Prince George’s County officials are urging residents to take matters into their own hands and self-report their Census info by phone or online. Prince George’s County lags well behind state averages and behind other suburban-metro Maryland counties when it comes to Census response rates, with only an estimated 64.7 percent of county huoseholds responding as of Aug 3, 2020. Statewide, 66.9 percent of Marylanders have responded to the Census. 

Within Prince George’s County, areas inside the Beltway, such as Chillum, Langley Park, East Riverdale, Landover, and Hillcrest Heights, lag well behind other county Census tracts when it comes to Census response rates. Prince George’s County will host a covid-conscious Census completion and food, medical and school-supply distribution event at Ebenezer Church of God at 7550 Buchanan Street in Landover Hills on Aug. 8, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this event, county officials will provide free meals, backpacks, school supplies, personal protective equipment, Census swag and information.

Census 2020

Prince George’s lags behind state Census response rate, but University Park leads the pack

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Prince George’s County was the sixth-most-improved county in Maryland to improve its Census response rate in first week following Census Day. But Prince George’s County’s overall response rate still lags behind most other Maryland counties, while slightly ahead of the national response rate. 

Every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tries to count where everybody lived as of April 1, or Census Day. But Census Day is not a deadline. The count will continue for several months, using online responses and in-person surveyors to collect data. Local governments are pushing their residents to respond to the Census online, noting that the demographic data produced by the Census is used to allocate congressional representatives as well as federal funding. 

Nationally, an estimated 46.7 percent of U.S. residents had completed the Census by April 9, 2020,  a 10.5 percentage point increase across the country since Census Day.

Hyattsville

Hyattsville eyes 2020 Census

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By Amelia Jarecke, contributing writer

Hyattsville is ramping up its efforts to get its residents counted on the 2020 Census. A key focus of the Hyattsville Complete Count Committee, formed earlier this month by the Hyattsville City Council, is to educate residents about the new electronic response option in the 2020 Census. Hyattsville is the latest Route 1 corridor city to launch a Complete Count committee. College Park and Mount Rainier have also taken similar steps. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found 84 percent of U.S. adults intend to participate in the Census.