South Dakota Census Response Rate Beating National Average—Respond Today!

You’d think the Census would be much easier this year, since Census-takers are much more likely to find everyone at home…

Luckily, we can fulfill our decennial Constitutional duty to count ourselves and protect everyone from unnecessary exposure to coronavirus by filling out the Census online.

The Census Bureau opened its online response website to the public on March 19. In its first twelve days of operation, that website received 88.0% of all Census responses submitted. Counting online and mail, the Census received responses from 38.4% of American households.

Utah residents show the strongest preference for Censusing online. 99.1% of their responses so far have come via the Internet. Washington, New Hampshire, and Colorado have submitted over 95% of their Census responses electronically. Another eighteen states have online submission rates higher than 90%. South Dakota just missed that percentage, though we’re still beating the national average online response rate. The states with the lowest online Census response percentages are Mississippi (62.9%), Arkansas (70.3%), West Virginia (71.9%), and Alabama (73.1%).

Minnesota and Wisconsin are tied for the best overall response rate of 46.4%. Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan each beat 44%. The states least interested in being counted so far are Alaska (23.6% response rate), West Virginia (27.0%), New Mexico (28.3%), and Wyoming (30.0%).

Here in South Dakota, our counties with big tribal populations have the lowest overall response rates, but what responses they have submitted have come entirely via Internet.

County	online response rate	% households responding online	% households responding, any means
Aurora	98.2%	27.7	28.2
Beadle	92.3%	39.5	42.8
Bennett	100.0%	1.8	1.8
Bon Homme	29.2%	12.0	41.1
Brookings	99.1%	44.6	45.0
Brown	85.3%	36.7	43.0
Brule	98.0%	28.7	29.3
Buffalo	100.0%	4.2	4.2
Butte	80.9%	29.2	36.1
Campbell	34.2%	6.6	19.3
Charles Mix	44.3%	6.2	14.0
Clark	98.9%	35.4	35.8
Clay	85.1%	38.4	45.1
Codington	93.7%	43.1	46.0
Corson	92.6%	2.5	2.7
Custer	74.6%	25.3	33.9
Davison	98.6%	42.5	43.1
Day	47.9%	13.9	29.0
Deuel	99.4%	30.7	30.9
Dewey	100.0%	1.5	1.5
Douglas	31.7%	11.3	35.6
Edmunds	35.9%	10.3	28.7
Fall River	49.7%	15.3	30.8
Faulk	33.7%	10.2	30.3
Grant	81.2%	37.1	45.7
Gregory	29.7%	9.7	32.7
Haakon	100.0%	9.9	9.9
Hamlin	99.4%	32.0	32.2
Hand	29.1%	12.9	44.3
Hanson	98.9%	36.3	36.7
Harding	99.4%	16.4	16.5
Hughes	99.3%	44.6	44.9
Hutchinson	47.3%	20.1	42.5
Hyde	34.0%	6.9	20.3
Jackson	100.0%	3.1	3.1
Jerauld	32.4%	10.4	32.1
Jones	43.9%	7.9	18.0
Kingsbury	30.7%	13.5	44.0
Lake	98.7%	37.6	38.1
Lawrence	85.0%	31.7	37.3
Lincoln	99.4%	50.5	50.8
Lyman	51.0%	5.0	9.8
McCook	99.0%	41.3	41.7
McPherson	29.9%	6.4	21.4
Marshall	98.8%	16.3	16.5
Meade	98.6%	34.3	34.8
Mellette	43.3%	2.9	6.7
Miner	98.0%	30.1	30.7
Minnehaha	99.0%	48.2	48.7
Moody	98.3%	34.8	35.4
Oglala Lakota	66.7%	0.2	0.3
Pennington	96.4%	40.3	41.8
Perkins	30.6%	9.5	31.0
Potter	98.6%	21.0	21.3
Roberts	57.6%	5.7	9.9
Sanborn	98.2%	26.9	27.4
Spink	50.4%	19.9	39.5
Stanley	99.4%	30.7	30.9
Sully	98.6%	21.3	21.6
Todd	100.0%	1.0	1.0
Tripp	31.2%	10.6	34.0
Turner	98.6%	34.0	34.5
Union	99.1%	44.4	44.8
Walworth	36.6%	13.1	35.8
Yankton	88.9%	41.7	46.9
Ziebach	100.0%	0.3	0.3

Among counties with greater than 10% overall response rates, ten—Lincoln, Harding, Hamlin, Deuel, Stanley, Hughes, Brookings, Union, McCook, and Minnehaha—have submitted over 99% of their responses online. Four counties—Hand, Bon Homme, Gregory, and McPherson—have online submission rates below 30%.

Lincoln County is the only South Dakota county so far to break the 50% total response rate. Minnehaha is close in eagerness to count, with 48.7% of its households responding. Eighteen of our 66 counties have better than a 40% response rate so far.

Remember, if you want your state to count, you’ve got to count! Fill out your Census form today!