Large swaths of North St. Louis currently have a less than 30% response rate to the U.S. Census, according to The Center for Urban Research’s Census 2020 Hard to Count map. And parts of North St. Louis County have response rates of between 30 and 40%.
What does that mean? Fewer resources and political representation for these neighborhoods, said Kayla Reed, co-founder and executive director of Action St. Louis.
“For every person not counted on the census, we lose $1,300,” Reed said. “Over 10 years, that’s $13,000 per person. In the face of an undercount, we’re losing millions of dollars. Our communities need those resources. This is a way everyone can be an activist: by filling out the census.”
Federal financial support for resources — school meals, transportation and meals for seniors, housing, health care, job training, and economic development — is based on population statistics from the Census Bureau. Census numbers are also used to determine representation in Congress, legislatures, and local governments. An undercount can lead to voter suppression, Reed said.
The City of St. Louis overall has a 52% response rate, and St. Louis County has a 74.4% response rate as of September 4, according to the Hard to Count 2020 map.
However, some areas in North St. Louis have much lower response rates. The Zip codes that are especially concerning in the City of St. Louis are 63147, 63116, 63107, 63113, 63108, 63106 and 63118. In St. Louis County, the areas of concern are Jennings, Pine Lawn, Berkeley, Ferguson, among others in North County.
September 30 is the deadline for households to fill out the census by completing the questionnaire by mail, by responding online at 2020census.gov, or by phone at 844-330-2020.
Up until September 30, a group of about eight City of St. Louis employees and U.S. Census Bureau enumerators will be leaving door hangers on doors in areas with low response rates, said Charles Bryson, director of the city’s Civil Rights Enforcement Agency. However, they are not knocking on doors because of the pandemic, he said.
In March, Action St. Louis made over 40,000 phone calls and canvassing teams knocked on several thousand doors, during their #WeCount314 campaign. Now they are launching a 2.0 campaign push through phone banking and canvassing and are looking for volunteers.
Reed said people can help by telling their immediate circles to fill out the census and post about it on their social media platforms, along with volunteering.
“This is dire,” Reed said. “It’s all hands on deck.”
St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page said on September 3 that census takers in the county are following up with households that have not yet submitted responses.
“Census participation is a critical tool to get federal funding and resources to historically marginalized communities – tools they need to succeed,” Page said.
In places such as Wellston that are making strides on economic development plans, an undercount can be detrimental to getting access to federal resources, said Ethel Byndom, community empowerment director and county census coordinator. Wellston currently has a response rate of 35%.
“A lot of people are not familiar with the census and are not understanding how important it is for federal programs for the community,” Byndom said. “Responding to the 2020 Census is so important as census funding will be pivotal in helping to rebound from a post-COVID-19 economy.”
The St. Louis region has the third-fastest growing foreign-born population in the United States, Page said, including more than 7% of county residents. Responses to census questions cannot legally be used against individuals in any way. Responses are confidential and protected by the strongest national privacy laws. The census form does not ask about citizenship status. No other government agency – including ICE, law enforcement, housing authority, or courts – can access any individual’s census answers.
“The census counts the entire population in America so we can form a more perfect, and representative, union,” said Kenny Murdock, director of diversity, equity & inclusion for St Louis County. “This is especially important for St. Louis County, as we are made stronger because of the diverse communities here.”
Households can fill out the census by completing the questionnaire by mail, by responding online at 2020census.gov, or by phone at 844-330-2020.