Nineteen Counties Reach or Surpass Participation Rates from 2000 Census

ALBANY, NY (04/16/2010)(readMedia)-- Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez announced today that 19 New York counties have reached or surpassed their 2000 census participation rates. A total of 41 counties, though, remain below their 2000 census participation rates. (Comparable data for two rural counties, Lewis and Hamilton, are currently unavailable.)

As a whole, an estimated 63 percent of New York state residents have filled out and mailed back their 2010 census forms, or three percent below the 2000 rate. The national pace is 68 percent, or four percent below the participation rate 10 years ago.

"Today is the last official day to mail back your 2010 census form. But any questionnaire received by the Census Bureau between tomorrow and the end of next week will still count toward our state's participation rate," Secretary Cortés-Vázquez said. "In two weeks, census enumerators will begin going door-to-door, and we hope that those who are visited by a census worker will open their doors and be courteous and cooperative. Remember: your answers are confidential and cannot be shared among government agencies, no matter if you sent the form in by mail or if you give answers to a census taker at your front door."

Wyoming County in Western New York and Tioga County in the Southern Tier lead the state with 80 percent participation thus far, while 10 counties remain under 60 percent participation: Sullivan, 40 percent; Delaware, 47; Greene, 47; Essex, 50; Kings (Brooklyn), 50; Allegheny, 56; Queens, 56; Schoharie, 56; Bronx, 57; and Richmond (Staten Island), 59.

If you have not received a form, or cannot locate it, you may pick one up at one of the hundreds of Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC) and Be Counted Sites (BCS) across the state. If you need assistance filling out the form, you can call one of these numbers: http://census2010.ny.gov/PDF/phonenumbers.pdf.

To view a complete list of 2010 census participation rates by state, county and community, as well as an interactive map featuring the locations of Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Be Counted Sites in New York, please visit http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map.

For more information on census updates and events in New York state, please visit www.census2010.ny.gov.

New York City census participation rates:

Borough As of April 16, 2010 2000 census Difference

Manhattan 62% 62% 0

Staten Island 59% 64% -5%

Bronx 57% 57% 0

Queens 55% 56% -1%

Brooklyn 50% 52% -2%

Counties in New York state that have surpassed their 2000 census participation rates:

County As of April 16, 2010 2000 census Difference

Tioga 80% 79% +1%

Schuyler 79% 66% +13%

Yates 79% 66% +13%

Cayuga 77% 67% +10%

Saratoga 77% 77% 0

Seneca 77% 76% +1%

Oswego 75% 70% +5%

Fulton 74% 69% +5%

Steuben 74% 74% 0

Clinton 73% 70% +3%

Washington 72% 68% +4%

Rensselaer 71% 71% 0

St. Lawrence 71% 71% 0

Chenango 68% 68% 0

Jefferson 66% 64% +2%

Columbia 63% 63% 0

Warren 63% 62% +1%

New York (Manhattan) 62% 62% 0

Bronx 57% 57% 0

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Additional news available at http://www.dos.state.ny.us/about/new2.htm.

New York State Department of State | info@dos.state.ny.us | 518.486.9846 | 212.417.5801

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