By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


Although Livingston County leads the way when it comes to Census numbers, officials are still pushing to get everyone counted.

Census Day was April 1st but the count is still happening and residents can complete their questionnaire online, by phone, or by mail. The Census is nine questions long and all responses are kept confidential. Census data is used to determine funding that comes down from the federal government, with each uncounted individual representing approximately $18,000 in lost funds over the next 10 years.

Livingston County Commissioner Doug Helzerman is the Chair of the Livingston County Complete Count Committee. He tells WHMI word is getting out and citizens are responding well. He noted the county’s self-response rates are already ahead of the 2010 census numbers, which had a response rate of 75.3%, and they’ve taken quite a bit of action to make sure everyone gets counted. Michigan currently ranks 4th in the nation for the highest response rate to the 2020 Census. The response rate for the state was 66.4%, compared to the national rate of 59.7%. Livingston County has the highest response rate of all Michigan counties with a response rate of 78.7%. Livingston currently has the 12th highest response rate nationwide.

Reminder mailers recently went out to Livingston County residents. Helzerman said households that have not yet responded should expect to see Census workers coming around door-to-door this summer to try and make contact with people. Helzerman stressed that census workers will only be going to households that have not responded. He says they’ll be easily identifiable and have paperwork so residents know it’s a census worker and not a scam.

Residents that haven’t participated yet can do so by calling 844-330-2020 or visit the provided web link.