Data kept by Census 2020 shows seven Northwest Arkansas cities are among the state’s Top 25 in census self-response.
Bella Vista, Farmington, Cave Springs, Elkins, Lowell, Prairie Grove and Rogers residents are making the best effort to respond to the census. A higher census count will lead to millions of additional dollars coming to these communities over the next 10 years.
Bella Vista last week became the only city in the state with a census self-response rate above 70%. Its number of households responding to the census stood at 72.4% on Sunday.
The Northwest Arkansas Council has identified gaining a complete, accurate census count as a priority. Every person counted by the census results in about $3,300 coming to the region each year, and ensuring that everyone is counted leads to more federal funding.
Additionally, the information is used to redraw congressional districts as well as the geographic boundaries for state and local political offices.
Arkansas as a whole is not responding well to the census. It ranks No. 37 among states with 48.9% of households responding. The national average is 53.4%.
It’s the state’s most rural counties where response is less common. Benton County is No. 1 statewide at 57.4%; Washington County sits at No. 6 at 54.3%. Among the state’s 75 counties, rural Newton has the lowest response rate at 9.3%.
There’s still time to respond. The census sent forms to every household in the nation in March. People can also respond to the census online or by calling 844-330-2020 for English or 844-468-2020 for Spanish.
