Only 34.1% of households in Fannin County have responded to the 2020 United States Census.
This figure falls below the state’s response rate at 56.5%, and the nation’s response rate at 60.4%.
While the census bureau has noticed more people have chosen to complete the census online at 2020census.org, residents do have the ability to respond by mail or by phone as well. According to the census bureau, 17.9% of the 34.1% of Fannin residents who have responded did so online.
Results of this year’s census, an enumeration mandated to take place every ten years by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, will help determine how $675 billion in federal funding are distributed to communities every year for the next ten years. It will also help determine the reapportion of the United States House of Representatives, redistricting and more.
“Over the next decade, lawmakers, business owners, and many others will use 2020 Census data to make critical decisions,” bureau officials said. “The results will show where communities need new schools, new clinics, new roads, and more services for families, older adults, and children. The results will also inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated to more than 100 programs, including Medicaid, Head Start, block grants for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.”
Fannin County non-profits and social service organizations, such as Fannin County Family Connection, also frequently use census data to help secure funds.
Households that do not respond to the census will be visited by census takers to interview households in person to receive a count.
Invitations to respond to the census have been mailed to homes, and many contain a paper census questionnaire that can be completed and mailed back in response.
The invitation will include a 12-digit census ID for the household that can be used to complete the census.
However, those wishing to complete the census online do not have to wait until they have their census ID. An option to input an address is available.