77% of Dane County Households Have "Taken Ten Minutes" for U.S. Census

April 13, 2010
Josh Wescott, 267-8823 or Rachel Strauch-Nelson, 266-4611

Residents Asked to “March to the Mailbox” to Send in Completed Census Forms 77% of Dane County households have successfully completed and mailed back the “Take Ten for the 2010 Census” forms received from the United States Census. In fact, Wisconsin has the highest return rate of any state in the country (77% statewide) according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census. Many Dane County towns, villages, and cities have participation rates in excess of 75%. “It’s encouraging to see so many Dane County households take a few minutes to answer a few questions and try to help their community,” County Executive Kathleen Falk said. “While spring is a busy time for everyone, I encourage those who haven’t had the opportunity to fill out their census forms yet, to do so soon and be counted!” “It’s not too late to send your Census form back in,” Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said. “It only takes ten minutes to make an important interest in our community. We’re ahead of the nation in responses, but we still need to make sure our entire community is represented in the Census.” The U.S. Census is conducted once a decade and helps determine how nearly $400-billion in federal funding for local schools, public safety programs, roads and highways, and services for kids and seniors are allocated. Census forms arrived in mailboxes in mid-March and people have been encouraged to fill them out and return them as soon as possible. Households that haven’t returned forms will soon receive a reminder in the mail from the U.S. Census. Later this spring, Census employees will go door to door, visiting residences that haven’t responded to help ensure the most accurate count. Questionnaire Assistance Centers and “Be Counted” sites have been set up across Dane County to help anyone with questions on how to complete the U.S. Census Forms. A list of these sites is attached. Updated U.S. Census participation figures by municipality are available at: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/ # # #