A few days ago, I got my 2020 census form. Actually, it was just a letter with a website that allowed me to fill it out online.
I did receive one in 2010, but I'm still waiting for my census form from 2000.
I would have been turning 17 when we got the 1990 form, but I do remember having to fill it out. I think it was supposed to be filled out by a parent, but I was old enough to understand it. The form in 1990 was much, much longer and more detailed than it is today.
The big question is, when am I going to receive my census form from 20 years ago?
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
We got the original letter last Thursday and then yesterday we got another one nagging us. The one we received yesterday had yesterday's date, so they clearly distributed them well in advance. Struck me as a big waste to send two communications within three business days of each other.
I responded online. No real reason not to. It doesn't ask for anything sensitive (SSN, etc.)–it asks how many people are in your household and then for each it asks for name, date of birth, race, and ethnic origin (the latter meaning, for example, if you're white and your family originated in Germany, you would put "German"). I could certainly see some people putting "Don't know" under ethnic origin. All the intrusive questions about the number of toilets in your house, commute time, etc., are no longer part of the decennial census; instead, those are now part of something called the "American Community Survey" that's distributed separately (though they'll still badger you and claim you're legally required to respond to it).
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 17, 2020, 11:00:36 AM
We got the original letter last Thursday and then yesterday we got another one nagging us. The one we received yesterday had yesterday's date, so they clearly distributed them well in advance. Struck me as a big waste to send two communications within three business days of each other.
The original mailing, which contains just a letter or a letter + a form, depending on the level of internet access in your county, is supposed to arrive between the 13th and 19th (I haven't gotten mine yet). The reminder letter is supposed to arrive 7-10 days after the original mailing. The contractor who is doing the mailings must have messed up because they weren't supposed to be that close together.
The actual Census day is April 1, correct? I will respond on that day. :nod:
Also, yes, your deep descendants will thank you for responding to this, especially when doing genealogical research. Speaking of that, the nitty-gritty from the 1950 Census will be released to the public in two years (by law, it's confidential for 72 years).
Mike
Dang, I kind of wanted to own the 2020 census thread, and I even had plans to start one, but I guess I missed my chance.
Maybe we'll need a separate "results" thread in a year or so when we actually get the data. :D
I was too young to care about the census back in 2010, so this is the first one I actually care about, and needless to say I'm quite excited! I already have an entire spreadsheet built so I can analyze the results for New York State right down to the township level, compare to 2000 & 2010, look at which areas are growing and shrinking, etc. Very glad I live in a state where everything is incorporated, as that makes analyzing the results much more fun.
Besides my home state of New York, I'm also interested in results from PA, OH, MN & ND, in particular.
And of course, the congressional seat reallocation will be fascinating as well. There's rumblings that California could lose seat(s) for the first time in history. One state that definitely won't be losing seats is Texas. A world in which every presidential election is decided by Texas no longer seems that far off.
Everyone says Kentucky won't lose a seat, but I think it might.
Quote from: webny99 on March 17, 2020, 11:38:49 AM
Dang, I kind of wanted to own the 2020 census thread, and I even had plans to start one, but I guess I missed my chance.
Maybe we'll need a separate "results" thread in a year or so when we actually get the data. :D
I was too young to care about the census back in 2010, so this is the first one I actually care about, and needless to say I'm quite excited! I already have an entire spreadsheet built so I can analyze the results for New York State right down to the township level, compare to 2000 & 2010, look at which areas are growing and shrinking, etc. Very glad I live in a state where everything is incorporated, as that makes analyzing the results much more fun.
Besides my home state of New York, I'm also interested in results from PA, OH, MN & ND, in particular.
And of course, the congressional seat reallocation will be fascinating as well. There's rumblings that California could lose seat(s) for the first time in history. One state that definitely won't be losing seats is Texas. A world in which every presidential election is decided by Texas no longer seems that far off.
Your listed age is 20. If you're currently in college and have a major that requires at least 15 hours in math/statistics and at least 9 hours in other sciences, you would qualify for a professional track position at the Census Bureau upon graduation. We have permanent offices in Suitland, MD; Jeffersonville, IN; Tucson, AZ; New York; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Chicago; Denver and Los Angeles.
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 11:44:55 AM
Your listed age is 20. If you're currently in college and have a major that requires at least 15 hours in math/statistics and at least 9 hours in other sciences, you would qualify for a professional track position at the Census Bureau upon graduation. We have permanent offices in Suitland, MD; Jeffersonville, IN; Tucson, AZ; New York; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Chicago; Denver and Los Angeles.
Interesting! I find the census fascinating, and I am taking some college courses online. Because of that (and various other reasons), however, I'm actually not looking for work and/or bored stiff by the whole coronavirus thing.
Quote from: bandit957 on March 17, 2020, 11:40:56 AM
Everyone says Kentucky won't lose a seat, but I think it might.
I'm planning on stealing H.B.'s office chair.
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 10:56:37 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
I would rather fill out a paper form and mail it back. There should be no objection to that.
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 05:05:05 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 10:56:37 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
I would rather fill out a paper form and mail it back. There should be no objection to that.
Why? It costs more taxpayer money.
Quote from: bandit957 on March 17, 2020, 01:09:21 AM
A few days ago, I got my 2020 census form. Actually, it was just a letter with a website that allowed me to fill it out online.
I did receive one in 2010, but I'm still waiting for my census form from 2000.
I would have been turning 17 when we got the 1990 form, but I do remember having to fill it out. I think it was supposed to be filled out by a parent, but I was old enough to understand it. The form in 1990 was much, much longer and more detailed than it is today.
The big question is, when am I going to receive my census form from 20 years ago?
Did you ever file a missing mail report?
Quote from: bandit957 on March 17, 2020, 01:09:21 AM
The big question is, when am I going to receive my census form from 20 years ago?
Around the same time my brother gets the birthday card I mailed him over a decade ago, when I lived in Baton Rouge.
(we now both live in Central Ohio)
Took a census myself tonight, nothing really all that interesting on it. It seemed to be more about ethnicity statistics more than anything.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 18, 2020, 12:25:36 AM
Took a census myself tonight, nothing really all that interesting on it. It seemed to be more about ethnicity statistics more than anything.
It's amazing how my state is running taxpayer-paid ads to remind us to fill it out, because it affects all sorts of funding. Meanwhile, like your experience, the thing asks nothing at all but any financial aspects of your home, just national origin. And then people wonder why there might be racial components to how this money is apportioned.
As to seats and all of that, the drive-by media, just focuses on this or that state gaining or losing seats. What is not covered is that EVERY state has to redistribute seats for the federal house (unless you have just one anyway), and the two (one in Nebraska) state houses. So while your state may have the same number of seats as before, population shifts within states means that districts often look very differently.
Most non-partisan projections say NY will lose 2 seats, AL, IL, MI, OH, PA, RI, WV, and for the first time ever CA, or MN, will lose seats, while TX will gain 3, FL 2, and NC, AZ, CO, MT, and OR one each.
There is a tight time frame for reapportionment and redistricting. Once the data is delivered to the states, they have to get districts redrawn in time for candidates to file by early 2022 for state primary elections.
If we have to delay data collection and/or processing, I could see it being possible that reapportionment and redistricting don't take effect until the 2024 elections.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 17, 2020, 05:10:06 PM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 05:05:05 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 10:56:37 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
I would rather fill out a paper form and mail it back. There should be no objection to that.
Why? It costs more taxpayer money.
Riiiight ... so did the
two letters I received inviting me to participate online, when
one form in the mail would have been sufficient.
Quote from: renegade on March 18, 2020, 10:21:01 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 17, 2020, 05:10:06 PM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 05:05:05 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 10:56:37 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
I would rather fill out a paper form and mail it back. There should be no objection to that.
Why? It costs more taxpayer money.
Riiiight ... so did the two letters I received inviting me to participate online, when one form in the mail would have been sufficient.
The postage isn't the big cost. It's the labor cost of having to process the paper form as opposed to the online form.
Quote from: SectorZ on March 18, 2020, 08:21:23 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 18, 2020, 12:25:36 AM
Took a census myself tonight, nothing really all that interesting on it. It seemed to be more about ethnicity statistics more than anything.
It's amazing how my state is running taxpayer-paid ads to remind us to fill it out, because it affects all sorts of funding. Meanwhile, like your experience, the thing asks nothing at all but any financial aspects of your home, just national origin. And then people wonder why there might be racial components to how this money is apportioned.
The main census has been watered down like this for a while. If you look through old census records, you'd get a lot more valuable information (especially for statistical research): occupation, level of education completed, birthplace/country of origin, etc.
It's a shame that we couldn't take advantage of the online form to put more information in. It never hurts to have more accurate statistics going forward, especially since census data is used to decide a whole ton of things, like moving bus routes, zoning, economic investment areas, and disaster response planning.
Quote from: Bruce on March 18, 2020, 11:41:58 AM
Quote from: SectorZ on March 18, 2020, 08:21:23 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 18, 2020, 12:25:36 AM
Took a census myself tonight, nothing really all that interesting on it. It seemed to be more about ethnicity statistics more than anything.
It's amazing how my state is running taxpayer-paid ads to remind us to fill it out, because it affects all sorts of funding. Meanwhile, like your experience, the thing asks nothing at all but any financial aspects of your home, just national origin. And then people wonder why there might be racial components to how this money is apportioned.
The main census has been watered down like this for a while. If you look through old census records, you'd get a lot more valuable information (especially for statistical research): occupation, level of education completed, birthplace/country of origin, etc.
It's a shame that we couldn't take advantage of the online form to put more information in. It never hurts to have more accurate statistics going forward, especially since census data is used to decide a whole ton of things, like moving bus routes, zoning, economic investment areas, and disaster response planning.
Really that's exactly what I thought after filling it out, they could have gotten way more information and it wouldn't have added really any additional time to complete the survey. I haven't received a census in a long time and it was substantially watered down from the last one I took.
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 18, 2020, 10:28:43 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 18, 2020, 10:21:01 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 17, 2020, 05:10:06 PM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 05:05:05 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 10:56:37 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
I would rather fill out a paper form and mail it back. There should be no objection to that.
Why? It costs more taxpayer money.
Riiiight ... so did the two letters I received inviting me to participate online, when one form in the mail would have been sufficient.
The postage isn't the big cost. It's the labor cost of having to process the paper form as opposed to the online form.
Yup. My tax dollars at work! In these trying times, people need to have jobs. I am doing my part to help that. Gonna move on with my life now ... the Census is the very least of my worries ... have a great day!!!
:wave:
Quote from: renegade on March 18, 2020, 03:44:35 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 18, 2020, 10:28:43 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 18, 2020, 10:21:01 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 17, 2020, 05:10:06 PM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 05:05:05 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 17, 2020, 10:56:37 AM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
You should probably give up waiting for your form from 2000. I doubt it's going to arrive anytime soon. Just sayin'.
:bigass:
What objection do you have to responding online?
I would rather fill out a paper form and mail it back. There should be no objection to that.
Why? It costs more taxpayer money.
Riiiight ... so did the two letters I received inviting me to participate online, when one form in the mail would have been sufficient.
The postage isn't the big cost. It's the labor cost of having to process the paper form as opposed to the online form.
Yup. My tax dollars at work! In these trying times, people need to have jobs. I am doing my part to help that. Gonna move on with my life now ... the Census is the very least of my worries ... have a great day!!!
:wave:
My wife putting on that sappy "Us is This" show sure got me motivated to take a survey last night.
Quote from: SP Cook on March 18, 2020, 10:02:07 AM
As to seats and all of that, the drive-by media, just focuses on this or that state gaining or losing seats. What is not covered is that EVERY state has to redistribute seats for the federal house (unless you have just one anyway), and the two (one in Nebraska) state houses. So while your state may have the same number of seats as before, population shifts within states means that districts often look very differently.
Most non-partisan projections say NY will lose 2 seats, AL, IL, MI, OH, PA, RI, WV, and for the first time ever CA, or MN, will lose seats, while TX will gain 3, FL 2, and NC, AZ, CO, MT, and OR one each.
I do remember several cycles ago when California gained a full five (or was it seven?) USHouse seats in one Census. I also remember several cycles ago when Montana dropped from two seats to one seat.
My home state of Wisconsin is fully expected to remain at eight USHouse seats.
Mike
I answered the census questions online for my household and found it to be fairly straightforward and quick. In addition to the race/ethnicity questions, there were also questions concerning how members of the household were related to each other, whether the dwelling was rented or owner-occupied, etc. This is all bread and butter for urban planners.
The website does not provide a mechanism for you to download your own census responses as, say, a PDF. I had Tamper Data running and saved the log as an XML file, so I have mine in encoded form.
On another forum I frequent, a regular complained about ethnicity being limited to sixteen character boxes on the form. There is no such constraint on the online form, so I specified mine as German, Scottish, and Swiss (as I had asked to be done on the 1990 form). FamilySearch tells me I am also Luxembourgish, French (both Breton and Alsatian), Dutch, and Austrian (with asterisk since the relevant ancestors came from Burgenland).
Since I was living in Britain at the time, I was obliged to participate in their decennial census in 2001. I think I took a photocopy of my completed form, but I haven't seen it for years.
I had a little difficulty with the ethnicity box because while I have heard from parents and grandparents that we are Norwegian and German, I consider that hearsay, since I do not have the details of any ancestor who may have immigrated from those countries, and don't care enough about the answer to use a paid service to verify it. I don't feel like it makes much of a difference what flavor of "white" I am, in any case. The online form did complain when I left the box blank, but if I clicked "next" again it accepted the blank box on the second attempt.
We got the letter today with the website and a code.
I haven't looked at it yet - my son got laid off and may be returning home so we want to be sure to have the correct number of people living here on April 1.
As for ethnicity, I'm Dutch, English and maybe some German. My wife is English, Irish, Scots, Bohemian, Dutch, German and maybe something else that I'm forgetting. Is there a "mixed" category?
Quote from: GaryV on March 20, 2020, 08:14:32 AM
We got the letter today with the website and a code.
I haven't looked at it yet - my son got laid off and may be returning home so we want to be sure to have the correct number of people living here on April 1.
As for ethnicity, I'm Dutch, English and maybe some German. My wife is English, Irish, Scots, Bohemian, Dutch, German and maybe something else that I'm forgetting. Is there a "mixed" category?
There aren't predefined categories for ethnicity. I have English, Scottish, French, Dutch, German, Swiss and Norwegian ancestry. I entered "pan-European" because I found that to be the most accurate description.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 20, 2020, 03:08:16 AM
I had a little difficulty with the ethnicity box because while I have heard from parents and grandparents that we are Norwegian and German, I consider that hearsay, since I do not have the details of any ancestor who may have immigrated from those countries, and don't care enough about the answer to use a paid service to verify it. I don't feel like it makes much of a difference what flavor of "white" I am, in any case. The online form did complain when I left the box blank, but if I clicked "next" again it accepted the blank box on the second attempt.
I'd probably have put "Don't know" in that situation.
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 20, 2020, 08:54:56 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 20, 2020, 03:08:16 AM
I had a little difficulty with the ethnicity box because while I have heard from parents and grandparents that we are Norwegian and German, I consider that hearsay, since I do not have the details of any ancestor who may have immigrated from those countries, and don't care enough about the answer to use a paid service to verify it. I don't feel like it makes much of a difference what flavor of "white" I am, in any case. The online form did complain when I left the box blank, but if I clicked "next" again it accepted the blank box on the second attempt.
I'd probably have put "Don't know" in that situation.
List of ethnicities:
...
Don't Know 0.76%
Unknown 0.56%
None 0.40%
Not Sure 0.33%
Nothing 0.31%
I Don't Know 0.30%
IDK 0.15%
...
Like many White Americans, I am a mix of European backgrounds: 1/2 Slavic, 1/4 Irish, 1/8 Italian, 1/8 Lithuanian. It can be very difficult for 2nd-generation Americans to have a precise descriptor for the ancestry. In my case, I simply put down "European".
I know that the "American" ancestry pops up a lot in Appalachia, where many are descended from old-stock Scots-Irish.
Quote from: 1 on March 20, 2020, 09:05:31 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 20, 2020, 08:54:56 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 20, 2020, 03:08:16 AM
I had a little difficulty with the ethnicity box because while I have heard from parents and grandparents that we are Norwegian and German, I consider that hearsay, since I do not have the details of any ancestor who may have immigrated from those countries, and don't care enough about the answer to use a paid service to verify it. I don't feel like it makes much of a difference what flavor of "white" I am, in any case. The online form did complain when I left the box blank, but if I clicked "next" again it accepted the blank box on the second attempt.
I'd probably have put "Don't know" in that situation.
List of ethnicities:
...
Don't Know 0.76%
Unknown 0.56%
None 0.40%
Not Sure 0.33%
Nothing 0.31%
I Don't Know 0.30%
IDK 0.15%
...
So I am half-Polish, and the rest various percentages of Hungarian, Ukranian, and Slovakian, would that qualify me as "mixed race?" And if I and a lot of other otherwise 3rd+ generation white Americans put that down as the race designation, I wonder how that would theoretically affect Congressional/legislative district lines.
Quote from: Mr. Matté on March 20, 2020, 10:20:25 AM
Quote from: 1 on March 20, 2020, 09:05:31 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 20, 2020, 08:54:56 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 20, 2020, 03:08:16 AM
I had a little difficulty with the ethnicity box because while I have heard from parents and grandparents that we are Norwegian and German, I consider that hearsay, since I do not have the details of any ancestor who may have immigrated from those countries, and don't care enough about the answer to use a paid service to verify it. I don't feel like it makes much of a difference what flavor of "white" I am, in any case. The online form did complain when I left the box blank, but if I clicked "next" again it accepted the blank box on the second attempt.
I'd probably have put "Don't know" in that situation.
List of ethnicities:
...
Don't Know 0.76%
Unknown 0.56%
None 0.40%
Not Sure 0.33%
Nothing 0.31%
I Don't Know 0.30%
IDK 0.15%
...
So I am half-Polish, and the rest various percentages of Hungarian, Ukranian, and Slovakian, would that qualify me as "mixed race?" And if I and a lot of other otherwise 3rd+ generation white Americans put that down as the race designation, I wonder how that would theoretically affect Congressional/legislative district lines.
All of the ethnicities you listed are white, so your race isn't mixed, it's white, and your ethnicity is mixed. Drawing legislative districts based on race or ethnicity is unconstitutional so it would have no impact.
I'm mostly of German descent with likely a measure of Irish mixed in, but I am soooooo tempted to respond 'American'.
It is amazing, to me, that somewhere around 40M-45M USAians claim at least some Irish ancestry. That is nearly ten times the population of the 'old' country. Talk about punching beyond one's weight class!
Also, a couple of Census cycles ago, the Bureau reported a serious spike in those claiming aboriginal ancestry, this due to the ethnic origin question including an answer line of 'Native American'. "I was born here, so I guess that that makes me a 'Native American'." :wow:
Mike
To my knowledge, 7 of 8 of my great-grandparents were born and raised in this country. The one that wasn't was from Scandanavia. However, going further back than that, I do have known ancestors from the UK. I honestly have no idea how that's supposed to be recorded on the census. These type of things get harder and harder to track with every decade (and generation) that passes.
Just to clear things up, race and ethnicity are two different things.
Race is your genetic makeup, it's not a matter of how you identify or label yourself. An easy way to think about it is where your ancestors lived in the year 1500 AD, before colonization.
Europe, East Asia, North Africa = White
Sub-Saharan Africa = Black
Western or Southern Continental Asia or Southeast Asian Islands = Asian
Pacific Islands = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
Essentially anywhere in the Western Hemisphere other than Pacific Islands = American Indian or Alaska Native
Genetically you are either one or some combination of these races.
Ethnicity is more of a self-identification description. Most people identify with one or more regions from where their race originates, but many simply identify as American or as no specific ethnicity.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 20, 2020, 03:08:16 AM
I had a little difficulty with the ethnicity box because while I have heard from parents and grandparents that we are Norwegian and German, I consider that hearsay, since I do not have the details of any ancestor who may have immigrated from those countries, and don't care enough about the answer to use a paid service to verify it.
I personally haven't subscribed to Ancestry or used any other paid services. There is a considerable amount you can do with FindAGrave.com (free), various census search services (also free), and family trees that others have put online (sometimes free too). If you go back far enough, say to a great-grandparent or second grandparent, you may find a segment of your family tree has been professionally investigated. For me, this has been true on both sides of my paternal grandfather's family.
I did not know about my ancestors outside the German, Scottish, and Swiss groups until a Facebook friend posted about RelativeFinder.com, which is a FamilySearch affiliate that will tell you what cousin relationships, if any, you have with various celebrities. It accepts a FamilySearch family tree as input and when I set mine up, I discovered most of the generations from grandparents onward were pre-populated. It was therefore a very fast and easy way to get an idea of where I came from, especially on my mother's side, though the extent to which I have verified the information for myself is still very limited. (RelativeFinder.com itself I found to be hokum. It did come up with celebrity matches, but they were mostly tenth cousins--meaning there are potentially millions of other people with the same relationship--and all of the ones I clicked through were connected to me through my paternal grandfather's mother.)
As for the ethnicity specification on the census, I view that as totally discretionary. I cannot imagine that the Census Bureau has the resources, let alone the interest, in checking answers that are internally consistent. If you are 100% German but identify as Scottish because you are a fan of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books, for example, nobody is going to come after you. Given the prevalence of white Appalachians who identify as "American" in spite of having documented Scots-Irish roots, I suspect the ethnicity question functions as a proxy for some combination of "Resources for genealogical investigation," "Interest in family history," and "Willingness to answer a government form in a straightforward way."
For me answering was pretty straight forward because I'm white with a clear family history dating back to England and Germany. With my wife it wasn't as clear given that she is Hispanic and our niece is part Mono. My wife was actually tripped up a little trying to answer because she wasn't really 100% sure for herself or our niece. The only thing she knows for sure is that they have a lot of ancestry in Jalisco.
I just realized I squandered my chance to say "European mutt". :-/
Quote from: J N Winkler on March 20, 2020, 12:27:35 PM
As for the ethnicity specification on the census, I view that as totally discretionary. I cannot imagine that the Census Bureau has the resources, let alone the interest, in checking answers that are internally consistent. If you are 100% German but identify as Scottish because you are a fan of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books, for example, nobody is going to come after you. Given the prevalence of white Appalachians who identify as "American" in spite of having documented Scots-Irish roots, I suspect the ethnicity question functions as a proxy for some combination of "Resources for genealogical investigation," "Interest in family history," and "Willingness to answer a government form in a straightforward way."
Spot on. In addition to the ethnicity data itself, it's fascinating to see the manner in which people choose to respond.
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
So I broke down and filled out the online Census last night. Answered the "origin" question by calling myself "American." After all, that's my origin. I
was born here.
Quote from: renegade on March 20, 2020, 03:30:02 PM
Quote from: renegade on March 17, 2020, 10:08:34 AM
I got two Census letters this week. I would be happy for a paper form. I don't want to do the Census online if I don't have to.
So I broke down and filled out the online Census last night. Answered the "origin" question by calling myself "American." After all, that's my origin. I was born here.
Way to totally miss the point. From the Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov/topics/population/ancestry.html):
QuoteAncestry refers to a person's ethnic origin or descent, "roots," or heritage, or the place of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.
So all Native Americans are "Siberian"?
Quote from: AlexandriaVA on March 20, 2020, 03:44:18 PM
Way to totally miss the point. From the Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov/topics/population/ancestry.html):
QuoteAncestry refers to a person's ethnic origin or descent, "roots," or heritage, or the place of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.
Oh. Then in that case, I'm American. Why does this matter? Is the current administration still upset because they couldn't have their citizenship question?
I seem to recall this being a question on previous Censuses. I don't necessarily think it's a bad-faith question; it can be useful to have data on the national origins of populations and thus the cultural impact that has on them.
Case in point, there was a social media post going around recently where someone had taken photographs in a number of Minneapolis-area stores that had been nearly depleted of stock due to the covid crisis. However, most items had exactly one item left, which the poster attributed to a quirky Minnesota taboo of not taking the last item, in case someone else needed it more badly (which the poster said often applied to other communally-shared items such as donuts in an office). A Swedish poster replied that it was a funny observation, since the Swedes had much the same taboo. Through further conversation, the Minnesotan and the Swede quickly discovered the large Swedish-descended population in Minnesota, and surmised that the cultural practice had been brought along by the Swedish settlers.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 20, 2020, 06:59:32 PM
I seem to recall this being a question on previous Censuses. I don't necessarily think it's a bad-faith question; it can be useful to have data on the national origins of populations and thus the cultural impact that has on them.
The Census has asked about national origin in one way or another since 1820. The Census Bureau has a useful potted reference (https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/index_of_questions/1850_1.html) to the scope of questions asked in censuses from 1790 onward.
Most of my ancestors from my second grandparents' generation onward begin appearing in census results from 1870. In 1850, the Census began asking immigrants what their native country was; in 1820 and 1830 enumerators were merely asked to take counts of foreigners not naturalized. 1870 brought questions about foreign birth of father and mother; in 1880 people were asked to specify places of birth for both parents. And so on.
But "place of birth" is much more specific than ethnic background. A whole lot of people can put down that they have Irish heritage, but several generations in their family have been born in the US.
In my part of the world we have the largest group of people who report their "ethnic background" as "American". Very proud of that and it is what I use. My ancestors have been here for 100s of years, came from all over Europe, and I could not care less about any European place. I am an American, pure and simple.
Again, I think it's a classic case of there not really being a wrong answer, and there's a lot to be learned about how people think about their own ancestry.
Quote from: SP Cook on March 21, 2020, 10:39:18 AM
In my part of the world we have the largest group of people who report their "ethnic background" as "American". Very proud of that and it is what I use. My ancestors have been here for 100s of years, came from all over Europe, and I could not care less about any European place. I am an American, pure and simple.
^^^^^
This. ^^^^^
Happy Census Day!
There's been discussion in several threads about the impact of coronavirus on the census for college campuses/towns, and these articles provides some clarity on that subject:
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/modifying-2020-operations-for-counting-college-students.html
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/04/9637264/us-census-college-students-2020-online-count
Another big question is if the US is going to hit 330 million people. I won't make a prediction on that, but can't wait to find out! :D
I did not receive a census form in the mail, but I've been told that I won't because I get my mail at a post office box.
I can't remember if I got a form for 2010 or not.
I think this census is going to result in some drastic redistricting for state legislative seats. College students who normally live in their college towns on April 1 are going to be back home, many in smaller communities.
Related, I applied for a part-time census position several months ago and never got anything back other than the confirmation messages and a few standard form emails. Guess I'm overqualified. :-D
I just filled mine out online.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 02, 2020, 01:15:11 PM
I did not receive a census form in the mail, but I've been told that I won't because I get my mail at a post office box.
I can't remember if I got a form for 2010 or not.
I think this census is going to result in some drastic redistricting for state legislative seats. College students who normally live in their college towns on April 1 are going to be back home, many in smaller communities.
Related, I applied for a part-time census position several months ago and never got anything back other than the confirmation messages and a few standard form emails. Guess I'm overqualified. :-D
Census forms are only mailed to places of residence so no PO Boxes. You can go online to fill it out or wait (quite a while at this point) for someone to come to your residence.
The plan has been revised to count students who live in dorms at their dorms even though they weren't there April 1.
Quote from: cabiness42 on April 03, 2020, 08:13:21 AM
The plan has been revised to count students who live in dorms at their dorms even though they weren't there April 1.
How will they do that, though? The directions are very clear to list where you will be staying on April 1 - a sufficiently strict reading would seem to imply that if someone was visiting a friend or family member on April 1, they're to be counted there, and not at the place they spend the entire rest of the year! Granted, I've always been prone to taking things overly literally.
Quote from: vdeane on April 03, 2020, 01:38:21 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on April 03, 2020, 08:13:21 AM
The plan has been revised to count students who live in dorms at their dorms even though they weren't there April 1.
How will they do that, though? The directions are very clear to list where you will be staying on April 1 - a sufficiently strict reading would seem to imply that if someone was visiting a friend or family member on April 1, they're to be counted there, and not at the place they spend the entire rest of the year! Granted, I've always been prone to taking things overly literally.
The instructions on the form (printed well before we entered our current reality) read: "Here, you'll count everyone living and sleeping in your home most of the time, including young children, roommates, and friends and family members who are living with you, even temporarily."
The Census 2020 website has added this instruction: "If someone such as a college student is just living with you temporarily due to the COVID-19 situation, they should be counted where they ordinarily would be living on April 1, 2020."
For students in college-managed campus housing, such as dorms, the Census Bureau will get the data directly from the colleges in the same manner they would normally. If a household counts their college student at home and the dorm also counts them, there are procedures designed to catch the duplications.
For students in off-campus housing, if they are still living in or getting their mail forwarded from that address, they can respond for that address using the code they were mailed that is unique to that address. If not, they can still answer online using that address.
Yeah, I would think most people know that you're supposed to be counted at your normal home, say if you're traveling to visit family or friends. But if you have no hard date set to return home and it could be months or more, that's where it starts to get a bit dicey. I imagine coronavirus will reduce these types of situations among the population at large, but obviously it's the reverse for college students, so the trends may end up canceling each other out.
I guess another big question is, for those living in off-campus housing, how many of them temporarily moved back to other places?
You would think it would be fewer as compared to those living in on-campus housing, but it's hard to say.
It will be very interesting to see how it turns out, but like so many things these days, really only time will tell.
What about college seniors, completing their degrees online, who will never be going back to campus?
Quote from: GaryV on April 03, 2020, 02:30:07 PM
What about college seniors, completing their degrees online, who will never be going back to campus?
They should be counted where they would have been living on April 1 had there not been a pandemic.
Quote from: cabiness42 on April 03, 2020, 01:49:45 PM
The Census 2020 website has added this instruction: "If someone such as a college student is just living with you temporarily due to the COVID-19 situation, they should be counted where they ordinarily would be living on April 1, 2020."
I don't recall there being any COVID-19 instructions when I completed the form two weeks ago.
Quote
For students in college-managed campus housing, such as dorms, the Census Bureau will get the data directly from the colleges in the same manner they would normally. If a household counts their college student at home and the dorm also counts them, there are procedures designed to catch the duplications.
Is that how most colleges handle it? When I was in college for the 2010 Census, we were required to fill out the forms ourselves - I think the RAs passed them out.
Quote
For students in off-campus housing, if they are still living in or getting their mail forwarded from that address, they can respond for that address using the code they were mailed that is unique to that address. If not, they can still answer online using that address.
Mail forwarding is done on a per-person basis, though (otherwise, when you move somewhere, you'd get all the mail for the person who moved in to your old place). Census form's aren't - they're addressed to "resident". As such, I don't think they'd forward.
Quote from: vdeane on April 03, 2020, 09:23:58 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on April 03, 2020, 01:49:45 PM
The Census 2020 website has added this instruction: "If someone such as a college student is just living with you temporarily due to the COVID-19 situation, they should be counted where they ordinarily would be living on April 1, 2020."
I don't recall there being any COVID-19 instructions when I completed the form two weeks ago.
Quote
For students in college-managed campus housing, such as dorms, the Census Bureau will get the data directly from the colleges in the same manner they would normally. If a household counts their college student at home and the dorm also counts them, there are procedures designed to catch the duplications.
Is that how most colleges handle it? When I was in college for the 2010 Census, we were required to fill out the forms ourselves - I think the RAs passed them out.
Quote
For students in off-campus housing, if they are still living in or getting their mail forwarded from that address, they can respond for that address using the code they were mailed that is unique to that address. If not, they can still answer online using that address.
Mail forwarding is done on a per-person basis, though (otherwise, when you move somewhere, you'd get all the mail for the person who moved in to your old place). Census form's aren't - they're addressed to "resident". As such, I don't think they'd forward.
The instruction isn't on the form itself but is on the main web page and the FAQ page.
As for the dorms, they may have had you fill out your form, but your form would have been sent in with all of the ones for the dorm in a single package, not individually. That's the methodology I was referring to. Obviously the individuals can't fill them out themselves now.
Quote from: cabiness42 on April 03, 2020, 10:29:16 PM
The instruction isn't on the form itself but is on the main web page and the FAQ page.
That's where I completed the form. They aren't including paper forms with their mailings, only the link.
Quote from: vdeane on April 04, 2020, 10:51:57 PMThat's where I completed the form. They aren't including paper forms with their mailings, only the link.
It varies, actually.
My father (formerly in an independent living apartment in Memphis) received a paper form. My wife and I (in a single family home in Connecticut) got a link to the website.
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on April 04, 2020, 11:48:22 PM
Quote from: vdeane on April 04, 2020, 10:51:57 PMThat's where I completed the form. They aren't including paper forms with their mailings, only the link.
It varies, actually.
My father (formerly in an independent living apartment in Memphis) received a paper form. My wife and I (in a single family home in Connecticut) got a link to the website.
Yes, there are different treatments for different parts of the country and housing types, though everyone who hasn't responded by now has gotten or will soon get a paper form regardless of their original treatment.
Paper form responses are having their barcodes scanned as received to remove those addresses from in person follow up when it eventually resumes but the rest of the processing steps are on hold for now.
National response rate is currently 43.9% which is extremely high for this early in the year.
One request: if you or anyone you know owns a 2nd home/vacation home/rental property that nobody is in right now, please respond for that address in addition to your own. A large chunk of in person follow up is vacant properties that nobody has responded for.
Quote from: cabiness42 on April 05, 2020, 08:49:15 AM
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on April 04, 2020, 11:48:22 PM
Quote from: vdeane on April 04, 2020, 10:51:57 PMThey aren't including paper forms with their mailings, only the link.
It varies, actually.
My father (formerly in an independent living apartment in Memphis) received a paper form. My wife and I (in a single family home in Connecticut) got a link to the website.
Yes, there are different treatments for different parts of the country and housing types, though everyone who hasn't responded by now has gotten or will soon get a paper form regardless of their original treatment.
Indeed (https://gis-portal.data.census.gov/arcgis/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7ef5c37c68a64ef3b2f1b17eb9287427)!
Here's a live map of the current census response rates. Most states have not reached their 2010 self-response rates, but I'm assuming the responses (including self-responses) will still be flowing in for a few more weeks, if not months. So it's an encouraging sign that the census is at least proceeding as planned for the most part despite everything else going on in the world!
https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html#
For the ethnicity question regarding those of us with "mutt" backgrounds, how did you respond? I just put "Swedish" since that's the most visibly identifiable part of our heritage, even though there is significant German and French along with a couple other things. I felt it was overkill to list all 4 or 5 nationalities in my known ancestry.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 08, 2020, 11:30:56 PM
For the ethnicity question regarding those of us with “mutt” backgrounds, how did you respond? I just put “Swedish” since that’s the most visibly identifiable part of our heritage, even though there is significant German and French along with a couple other things. I felt it was overkill to list all 4 or 5 nationalities in my known ancestry.
'
I just left it blank. I have English, Irish, Norwegian, Austrian, and probably some other ancestry I'm not aware of, but nothing makes up a significant proportion. I don't think of myself as anything more specific than just "general European".
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 08, 2020, 11:30:56 PM
For the ethnicity question regarding those of us with "mutt" backgrounds, how did you respond? I just put "Swedish" since that's the most visibly identifiable part of our heritage, even though there is significant German and French along with a couple other things. I felt it was overkill to list all 4 or 5 nationalities in my known ancestry.
I listed German/Swedish (on my father's side of the family -- a cousin had thoroughly researched that part of the family tree) and Italian (my mother). I could've listed another ethnicity, but I wasn't sure of my maternal grandfather's non-Italian origins, and I didn't feel like chasing that down just for a crummy Census form. Either way, a mix of northern and southern European.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 08, 2020, 11:30:56 PMFor the ethnicity question regarding those of us with "mutt" backgrounds, how did you respond? I just put "Swedish" since that's the most visibly identifiable part of our heritage, even though there is significant German and French along with a couple other things. I felt it was overkill to list all 4 or 5 nationalities in my known ancestry.
In my case, I listed just three--German, Scottish, and Swiss--in descending order by blood quantum. I don't actually know all of the European regions or countries that are represented in my ancestry and I still run into surprises when I look at my family tree in FamilySearch. For example, for years I thought my UK roots were exclusively in the Scottish Lowlands, but it appears I have some English ancestry as well.
I put "European but in retrospect, I should have left that blank. What does it matter in the greater scheme of things, meaning legislative redistricting?
Due to having Indian ancestry, my brother checked "Native American" in either the 2000 or 2010 Census. Fauxcahontas would probably approve.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 09, 2020, 12:25:54 PM
Fauxcahontas would probably approve.
Anyone using that word illustrates their ignorance of the state of Oklahoma.
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 11, 2020, 06:00:28 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on April 09, 2020, 12:25:54 PM
Fauxcahontas would probably approve.
Anyone using that word illustrates their ignorance of the state of Oklahoma.
She might be a native of Oklahoma, but 1/1,024 DNA doesn't lie.
Here's a link (https://public.tableau.com/views/ResponseRateChallenge/CountyTractDashboard?%3AshowVizHome=no&%3Atabs=n&State=New%20York&Select%20Mode=Total&Share) to what I think is an incredibly cool interactive map that shows you the self-response rates to the 2020 census right down to the census tract. I find this type of thing fascinating, like how response rates are highest in the suburbs, low in urban areas, and lowest in areas with poor internet.
But maybe it's just me! :meh: :coffee:
Quote from: hbelkins on April 11, 2020, 07:47:21 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 11, 2020, 06:00:28 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on April 09, 2020, 12:25:54 PM
Fauxcahontas would probably approve.
Anyone using that word illustrates their ignorance of the state of Oklahoma.
She might be a native of Oklahoma, but 1/1,024 DNA doesn't lie.
It's not relevant. In Oklahoma, pretty much everyone whose family has been here for more than a few generations is told that they have some degree of Native American blood. Your great-grandpa on your dad's side married into this tribe, or a cousin on your mom's side was this other tribe. If a tribal member left the tribe and integrated into white society in the 19th century, and didn't appear on the Dawes rolls, one would have no way of knowing if they had any degree of Indian blood at all. So it became a plausible lie, and if your mother or your grandfather or whichever wannabe family geneologist told you in the 1960s that you were Indian when there was no such thing as DNA testing or Ancestry.com, what are you going to do, call them out on it? How would you know? Where would you even get a copy of the Dawes rolls with no Internet?
Thousands upon thousands of Oklahomans believe they are Native American to this day, with no proof. They probably aren't, but they were raised to believe that.
It's no different than the people in this thread having a grandma that swears up and down they're Italian, but they take a DNA test and, surprise, they're Scottish.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 09, 2020, 12:25:54 PM
I put "European but in retrospect, I should have left that blank. What does it matter in the greater scheme of things, meaning legislative redistricting?
Due to having Indian ancestry, my brother checked "Native American" in either the 2000 or 2010 Census. Fauxcahontas would probably approve.
A girl I know has like 1/16 native blood and I told her she wasn't Native American and she swore she was. I asked her what tribe she was part of, she didn't know :pan:
One thing we're starting to confuse here is the difference between ethnic heritage on a standard form like a Census form and qualifications for Native American tribe membership. There is no actual law that dictates a minimum percentage in order to claim general Native American ethnicity on a Census form, as opposed to Native American tribes which require you to prove a certain percentage of ancestry, usually 25% but less for others, to be able to identify yourself as a member of that tribe.
It's also worth noting that in the past, the Census did not tabulate self-reported ethnicity. Instead, it asked each person the birthplaces (state or foreign country) of himself or herself and his or her parents, as well as his or her native language at birth if this was not English. For some of my Scottish ancestors, the relevant line on the enumeration sheet goes "Scotland - Scotland - Scotland - Scotch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language)."
I have also been a little surprised at how easy it is to avoid being counted. For example, over the past week or so, I have been tracing a great-granduncle who was born in coal miners' rows in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland, in December 1881. He appears in the 1900 census (aged 18) in Pennsylvania, the 1920 census (aged 38) in Texas (as a farm hand for a family who gave their native language as Spanish), and the 1940 census (aged 58), also in Texas. The 1910 census has no 100% good match for him, but it does have just two name matches of his approximate age reporting parents' birth in Scotland. One was a quarryman in King County, Washington, reporting arrival in the US in 1907 (my relative arrived in 1882 or 1883 and reported the latter as his arrival date on other censuses). The other was a farm laborer in Chambers County, Texas, with Virginia given as his birthplace, but both parents from Scotland. I suspect the latter is my relative (he was in Chambers County, albeit in a different justice precinct, in 1918 when he had to fill out a draft card), and the enumerator made a transcription error because the very next line is for someone with Scotland as his birthplace and Massachusetts as the birthplace of both parents. For 1930 I have yet to find any close matches.
The national response rate has slowly been ticking up, and is currently at 49.1%.
There are only 6 states that have not hit a 40% response rate yet:
Alaska (no surprises there), Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
And no states have hit 60%, although Minnesota is closest at 58.8%.
https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html#
The national response rate has ticked up to 57%, and there are only 7 states that are still below 50%. Any guesses which 7?
Amidst everything else going on, the 2020 census is ticking along. The national response rate currently stands at 60.7%
Only 3 states have not hit 50% yet: West Virginia, New Mexico, and Alaska (no surprises there).
Here's a chart of the 2010 and 2020 response rates for each state, sorted by the difference between the two. No state has surpassed their 2010 response rate yet, but Michigan is closest, followed by Washington. Both are likely to surpass their 2010 response rate this month, if current trends hold.
| State | Current 2020 Rate | Final 2010 Rate | Difference |
| Michigan | 67.3 | 67.7 | 0.4 |
| Washington | 66.0 | 67.2 | 1.2 |
| Kentucky | 64.3 | 65.7 | 1.4 |
| Nevada | 59.9 | 61.4 | 1.5 |
| Virginia | 65.9 | 69.0 | 3.1 |
| Ohio | 65.8 | 69.0 | 3.2 |
| Oregon | 63.5 | 66.9 | 3.4 |
| Minnesota | 70.4 | 74.1 | 3.7 |
| Alabama | 58.7 | 62.5 | 3.8 |
| Colorado | 63.3 | 67.2 | 3.9 |
| Indiana | 65.5 | 69.6 | 4.1 |
| Nebraska | 66.9 | 71.1 | 4.2 |
| Idaho | 62.9 | 67.1 | 4.2 |
| Arizona | 57.1 | 61.3 | 4.2 |
| Utah | 64.3 | 68.6 | 4.3 |
| Maryland | 65.1 | 69.5 | 4.4 |
| New Jersey | 62.9 | 67.6 | 4.7 |
| Illinois | 65.8 | 70.5 | 4.7 |
| Florida | 58.2 | 63.0 | 4.8 |
| New Hampshire | 59.5 | 64.4 | 4.9 |
| Delaware | 59.1 | 64.1 | 5.0 |
| Connecticut | 64.5 | 69.5 | 5.0 |
| Kansas | 64.7 | 70.0 | 5.3 |
| Mississippi | 55.9 | 61.3 | 5.4 |
| Iowa | 67.4 | 73.0 | 5.6 |
| Georgia | 56.9 | 62.5 | 5.6 |
| Wisconsin | 67.8 | 73.5 | 5.7 |
| Massachusetts | 62.9 | 68.8 | 5.9 |
| Louisiana | 55.0 | 61.0 | 6.0 |
| Tennessee | 60.8 | 67.1 | 6.3 |
| California | 61.9 | 68.2 | 6.3 |
| Pennsylvania | 63.8 | 70.2 | 6.4 |
| Missouri | 60.9 | 67.5 | 6.6 |
| Maine | 50.8 | 57.4 | 6.6 |
| Rhode Island | 58.9 | 65.7 | 6.8 |
| South Dakota | 60.2 | 67.1 | 6.9 |
| Arkansas | 55.4 | 62.3 | 6.9 |
| North Carolina | 57.1 | 64.8 | 7.7 |
| Oklahoma | 54.3 | 62.3 | 8.0 |
| Hawaii | 55.6 | 64.1 | 8.5 |
| New York | 56.0 | 64.6 | 8.6 |
| Vermont | 51.5 | 60.3 | 8.8 |
| Texas | 55.5 | 64.4 | 8.9 |
| North Dakota | 59.7 | 68.8 | 9.1 |
| South Carolina | 55.5 | 64.7 | 9.2 |
| West Virginia | 48.2 | 59.1 | 10.9 |
| New Mexico | 48.4 | 60.0 | 11.6 |
| Wyoming | 50.7 | 63.4 | 12.7 |
| Montana | 51.7 | 64.6 | 12.9 |
| Alaska | 41.5 | 55.6 | 14.1 |
How is the response rate determined if you don't know what the population is?
Quote from: 1 on June 09, 2020, 10:00:33 AM
How is the response rate determined if you don't know what the population is?
They're not the same. The response rate is based on the number of censuses sent out. If 100 are sent, and 60 are received, the rate is 60%. If the population is only 80, or 120, the response rate is still 60%. Further surveys and in-person visits will determine the true population.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 09, 2020, 10:19:18 AM
Quote from: 1 on June 09, 2020, 10:00:33 AM
How is the response rate determined if you don't know what the population is?
They're not the same. The response rate is based on the number of censuses sent out. If 100 are sent, and 60 are received, the rate is 60%. If the population is only 80, or 120, the response rate is still 60%. Further surveys and in-person visits will determine the true population.
To be a little bit more specific, before census forms are mailed out, there is an operation called Address Canvassing in which employees literally canvas the country to update address lists. That produces a universe of households to be counted. The response rate is the percentage of those households that have responded, regardless of the numbers of people.
If you're like me, and get your mail at a post office box and not via home delivery, you won't get a mailed form. I didn't realize that until I started hearing of people getting their forms and I hadn't received one. I filled my form out online upon hearing that. I don't remember how I responded 10 years ago.
Quote from: hbelkins on June 09, 2020, 04:43:30 PM
If you're like me, and get your mail at a post office box and not via home delivery, you won't get a mailed form. I didn't realize that until I started hearing of people getting their forms and I hadn't received one. I filled my form out online upon hearing that. I don't remember how I responded 10 years ago.
If you live in an area of any size that doesn't have home mail delivery, your area should be identified as one where forms are hand delivered. If it's only a small area that doesn't get home delivery or you just choose not to, you would have to respond online, by phone, or wait for an enumerator to visit you.
Quote from: cabiness42 on June 09, 2020, 05:38:50 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 09, 2020, 04:43:30 PM
If you're like me, and get your mail at a post office box and not via home delivery, you won't get a mailed form. I didn't realize that until I started hearing of people getting their forms and I hadn't received one. I filled my form out online upon hearing that. I don't remember how I responded 10 years ago.
If you live in an area of any size that doesn't have home mail delivery, your area should be identified as one where forms are hand delivered. If it's only a small area that doesn't get home delivery or you just choose not to, you would have to respond online, by phone, or wait for an enumerator to visit you.
Rural mail delivery is available here, but we've never had it. My dad always got his mail at the county seat post office (incidentally, door-to-door delivery isn't available there) and he never installed a mailbox by the road. He was probably apprehensive about mail theft. When we moved back here, we lived in the city limits and thus needed a PO box (we inherited the one my grandmother and cousin, the house's previous occupants, had used). When we moved to the place where I grew up after my dad's death, we never bothered putting up a rural box. I'm guessing that mail theft is an even bigger problem these days than it used to be.