BBBTV12 Serving Anderson, Roane, and Morgan Counties
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin emailing households in low-responding areas to encourage them to respond to the 2020 Census.
Millions of emails will be sent this week and then grow in numbers and continue into September. These emails supplement a final campaign reminding people to respond to the 2020 Census on their own, as census takers begin asking households to respond to the census.
The email messages will invite people to respond online at www.2020census.gov. People who receive the email and haven’t already responded should click on the link provided and complete the census online. It’s easy, safe and important.
Nationwide, 62.7% of Americans had completed the Census, either by mail or online, as of July 28th. Tennessee’s response rate comes in at 62.1%.
Anderson County’s response rate has stayed strong at 66.2%, with Oak Ridge’s rate of 69.1% leading among its cities. All five of the communities specifically identified by the Census Bureau in Anderson County have response rates above 50%. Clinton’s rate is 68.2%, with Oliver Sprimgs at 63.3%, Norris at 63.1 and Rocky Top (still listed as ‘Lake City’) has a response rate of 50.5%.
Campbell County’s response rate is a mediocre 52.5%, with Jacksboro continuing to lead the way with a response rate of 62.6%. Caryville’s response rate is 52.6%, followed closely by LaFollette (52.4%) and Jellico (52.3%).
Roane County’s Census response rate is 61.7%. 67.9% of Kingston residents have completed the survey, easily outpacing the 57% response rate in Rockwood, and Harriman’s 55.1% rate.
56.9% of Morgan County residents have already responded to the Census. Among Morgan County communities, Oakdale has a response rate of 55.7%, while Wartburg comes in at 51.6% and Sunbright at only 48.7%.
The emails will go to all households that the Census Bureau has contact information for in census block groups with a response rate lower than 50%.
The email messages will come from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov, and will give recipients the option to opt out of receiving future messages. The Census Bureau is also considering sending text messages to areas that have low response.
Households have until October 31 to respond to the 2020 Census. However, census takers have begun following up with households that haven’t responded yet in select areas and will begin following up with households nationwide in August.
