Madison tops list for state
The city of Madison had the highest self-response rate to the 2020 Census in the state, with the county finishing second behind De Soto, according to responses received through Oct. 5.
The 2020 Census ended on Monday, according to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, despite a federal judge’s ruling last week to continue the head count until the end of the month.
The city of Madison had a response rate of 83.4 percent, with Madison County at 72 percent. DeSoto County led the state with 72.7 percent.
County Administrator Shelton Vance told supervisors on Monday that DeSoto had the slight edge, which meant he was charged with buying dinner for the DeSoto administrator after a friendly wager between the two was set to spur participation in the Census.
“I thought that we would outpace them in our Census numbers but it turns out they outpaced us just slightly so I owe her a meal now,” Vance said. “It’s very close.”
Madison County Board of Supervisors President Gerald Steen said the numbers were good but he’d always love to see it higher.
Rankin County had a 69.3 percent self-response rate, coming in third. The metro-area had a 62 percent response in total.
Ridgeland finished 31st in the state with a 65.5 percent response rate. Canton was 38th in the state with 63.9 percent and Flora was 131st with a response rate of 55.1 percent.
The national average for self-response was 66.7 percent, with Mississippi finishing 45th at 60.2 percent, ahead of New Mexico, Maine, West Virginia, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Minnesota had the highest self-response rate with 75 percent.
Despite months of quarantine and lockdown across the country, participation in the 2020 census was down over seven percent from the 2010 Census for the U.S.
In 2010, Madison County had a 74 percent self-response rate, which was lower than the 78 percent for the 2000 Census.
Mississippi had a 69 percent response rate in 2010, and a 70 percent response rate in 2000.
Earlier this year, the Mississippi Legislature passed Senate Bill 2149 that gave a no-bid marketing contract in the amount of $400,000 to the Focus Group, a Gulf Coast agency owned by a businessman who was found guilty by a federal jury of defrauding Medicare.
The Focus Group initially aired a commercial in March featuring Morgan Freeman holding a postcard with a QR code that led viewers to an incorrect website. The 30-second spot was later edited.
Not only does the Census determine how many congressional seats each state receives during the apportionment process, it is also used to determine how $1.5 trillion of federal money is distributed each year.