LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Monday, leaders of Michigan’s “Be Counted” 2020 Census campaign announced that the final results from the U.S. Census Bureau show Michigan took 8th place in the U.S. for its census self-response rate.
Officials say this is the best Michigan performance since at least 1990, and that the state also ranked 3rd in the nation for the largest gain in its statewide response rate from the 2010 census.
“The overwhelming majority of people in Michigan can take great pride in knowing they did their part to help ensure our state will ‘Be Counted’ nationally in the 2020 Census and that their efforts will help all Michiganders for the next 10 years,” Michigan 2020 Census Director Kerry Ebersole Singh said in a statement. “The decennial census calls on Michigan and all 50 states to count every person living in the U.S., which is a tremendous task that’s been made more difficult by multiple challenges in 2020 including the coronavirus pandemic. Yet Michiganders in every corner of the state rose to this task with more than 71% of households completing their census on their own. Our results reflect the hard work of everybody involved in promoting Michigan’s ‘Be Counted’ campaign. We thank them for sharing their time, talent and expertise to improve Michigan communities.”
The organization provided the following details for census turnout, starting with statewide data. The information is based on state analysis of U.S. Census Bureau results –
State:
- The U.S. Census Bureau reports 99.9% of all Michigan households in the state have been counted.
- Michigan became the first state in the nation on June 17, 2020, to have exceeded its 2010 self-response rate. In 2010, Michigan finished 17th in the U.S. for its self-response rate.
- Through today (Oct. 19), 71.3% of Michigan households self-responded to the 2020 Census.
- Michigan finished 8th among states for 2020 self-response after 1st-place Minnesota, followed by Washington, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa, while Virginia and Illinois tied for 6th-place.
- Michigan is just 0.2% behind 5th-place Iowa in self-response.
- Michigan’s 8th-place self-response ranking among all U.S. states is the highest that Michigan has achieved since at least 1990.
- Michigan’s rise from 17th in 2010 to 8th-place in 2020 is the state’s biggest increase in the census rankings going back to 1990.
- Michigan was 3rd for largest real gain in self-response rate, with 3.6% more Michigan households self-responding in 2020 than in 2010 (71.3% vs. 67.7%).
- Only Nevada and Washington had a greater increase with 5.2% higher self-response each
- Washington state moved from 21st in 2010 to 2nd (+19 spots) in 2020.
Regional:
- 71% of Michigan counties (59/83) self-responded at a higher rate than the 2010 Census.
- Top-responding Michigan counties included:
- Livingston (82.5%) (ranks 15th nationally in self-response)
- Macomb (81.8%) (23rd nationally)
- Oakland (79.7%) (47th nationally)
- Ottawa (79.5%)
- Lapeer (79.5%)
- Lowest self-responding Michigan counties included:
- Lake (27.5%)
- Keweenaw (30.1%)
- Oscoda (33.7%)
- Mackinac (34.7%)
- Alcona (38.3%)
- Biggest increase in self-response by counties between the 2010 to 2020 census:
- Livingston rose from a 75.3% response rate in 2010 to 82.5% (+7.2%)
- Macomb rose from 75.4% to 81.8% (+6.4%)
- Eaton rose from 72.9% to 79.1% (+6.2%)
- St. Clair rose from 70.7% to 76.5% (+5.8%)
- Emmet rose from 50.5% to 56.3% (+5.8%)
- Benzie rose from 46.5% to 52.3% (+5.8%)
- U.P. counties show:
- Marquette County had the biggest increase in response rate in the U.P. gaining nearly 2% between the 2010 and 2020 census to finish with 66.0%
- Delta and Dickinson counties also improved their 2010 self-response rate to 64.3% and 67.3%, respectively
- Keweenaw had the biggest dip in their self-response rate, falling to only 30.1% of households self-responding in 2020 vs. 35.7% in 2010
- Northern Lower Michigan:
- Benzie, Emmet and Otsego counties all increased their self-response rate by more than 5 percentage points vs. their 2010 finish (2020 finishes of 52.3%, 56.3% and 58.0%, respectively)
- Grand Traverse and Alpena counties had the highest self-response rates with 72.2% and 70.2%
- Southeast Michigan:
- All counties in Southeast Michigan improved their self-response rate in 2020 by more than 3% over their 2010 finish
- Oakland County finished 2nd nationally for counties with more than 1 million residents with 79.7% self-responding
- Wayne County finished 30th of the 45 counties with more than 1 million residents with 66.6%
- West Michigan:
- Kent County had the largest increase in self-response in West Michigan, gaining 5% over its 2010 finish (8.6% vs. 73.6%)
- Ottawa County had the highest self-response rate at 79.5%
Local:
- Grand Rapids increased its self-response rate nearly 2 points to 71.6%.
- Both Grand Rapids and Wyoming rank in the top 10 of Michigan’s largest cities (>75,000 people), with Wyoming claiming 5th for 78.2% self-response and Grand Rapids in 10th with 71.6%
- The City of Kalamazoo surpassed its 2010 response rate with 65.9% of households self-responding in 2020 compared to 65.4% in 2010. Kalamazoo is one of very few cities with a major university to surpass their 2010 finish in Michigan.
- For example, hometowns of Central Michigan University, Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan University all had lower response rates than 2010.
Despite Michigan’s successful campaign results thus far, Ebersole Singh and “Be Counted” leaders cautioned that Michigan census officials remain concerned that not all Michiganders were accurately counted this year.
The organization cites a series of actions by President Donald Trump’s administration as their reasoning. They say these actions have jeopardized the U.S. Census Bureau’s ability to deliver an accurate count of the U.S. population later this year. They cited findings released by a task force of the American Statistical Association (ASA) released last week.
In one listed example, the organization says a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the U.S. Census Bureau to decide when to end the count if it chose to do so. As a result, the Trump Administration and the agency ended the census count on October 14, two weeks before a lower federal court’s approved October 31 deadline.
“Be Counted” leaders say U.S. Census Bureau enumerators who conducted door-to-door census count activities in Michigan have not had sufficient time to:
- Ensure Michigan’s most vulnerable communities are fully counted.
- Visit all uncounted households multiple times, as was planned through the Census Bureau’s initially approved October 31 deadline, to provide as many opportunities to respond as possible.
- Verify that homes are accurately listed as occupied or vacant.
- Count college students at their universities.
- Ensure group quarters such as assisted living facilities have more time to complete the 2020 census.
Michigan is among a coalition of 20 states and 15 cities and counties supported by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel that filed suit on July 24, which is pending in federal court.
The purpose of the suit is to block President Donald Trump’s memo directing undocumented immigrants be excluded from the 2020 census count for purposes of deciding how many members of Congress are apportioned to each state, calling it “unlawful.”
The Census Bureau’s next deadline is December 31, when it must give President Trump a tally of the U.S. population that will be used to determine how many seats each state gets in the 435-seat House of Representatives over the next decade.
Census data also determine how the federal government distributes some $1.5 trillion annually and are widely used by researchers and businesses to understand demographic trends.
