Mo. reports 99.9 percent census enumeration rate

Over a month following the conclusion of the 2020 Census on Oct. 15, results from the Missouri 2020 Complete Count Committee final report have been published this week.

The Missouri 2020 Complete Count Committee was established back in December 2018 through an executive order signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson with the goal of increasing census participation across the state.

Committee work was done through a mixture of grassroots community outreach as well as a series of communication efforts through a paid media campaign.

According to U.S. Census Bureau reports, Missouri managed to achieve a total enumeration rate was 99.9 percent. The state’s overall self-response rate was 65.9 percent.

“While this year has brought its share of challenges, the committee made every effort to reach Missouri’s hard-to-count groups,” Parson said in a Tuesday news release. “We are proud that their efforts resulted in a 99.9 percent enumeration rate in the state of Missouri, which guarantees Missouri fair representation in Congress and an equitable distribution of federal dollars over the next decade.”

This year was the first time Missouri residents could independently respond to the census online, a process that made it easier for many to respond and is believed to have contributed to the much-improved participation rate.