Fewer people have responded to the 2020 census across Western Pennsylvania than in 2010, new data shows.

According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, several area counties, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, are about 5 percentage points behind self-response rates recorded in 2010. That means fewer people so far have responded via phone, online or by mail to the survey that dictates funding and congressional seats per state, according to the census liaison.

“I think our goal is to have the most accurate count possible, which means that our goal is really to ensure that every citizen, every person in Westmoreland County, is counted,” said Phil Koch, a member of the county’s complete count committee and executive director of the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. “We’re doing our best to reach the highest possible number we can.”

So far, Westmoreland County’s self-response rate is 71%. In 2010, the final self-response rate landed at 71.6%, something Koch said is a benchmark for what can be achieved.

In Allegheny County, the current response rate sits at 68.9%, compared to 71.3% in 2010. Gregg Behr, co-chair of the Allegheny County Complete Count Committee, said officials are zoning in on specific neighborhoods with lower response rates, including places in the Monongahela Valley and the East Hills.

“Ideally, we’re on a good track,” said Behr, who is executive director of The Grable Foundation in Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvania State Data Center Data compiled shows self-response rates for the 2020 census in counties across the country.  

Surrounding counties also are, on average, 5 points below where they were in 2010, data shows, including Somerset, Fayette, Indiana, Cambria, Washington and Beaver. Across the state, counties with the lowest response rates include Forest, 25.9%; Sullivan, 30.6%; Pike, 38.4%; Cameron, 41.9% and Wayne, 45.7%, data show.

Butler County is the only local area that surpassed 2010 rates. According to a Census Bureau map, the county has a 74% response rate compared to 73.8% in 2010. Counties with the highest rates include Bucks, 75.3%; Lancaster, 74.7%; Chester, 74.6%; Montgomery, 74% and Cumberland, 73.5%.

Pennsylvania ranks 17th in the nation due to its overall 66% response rate. The state ended 2010 with a 70.2% response rate.

Across the country, where the self-response rate is 63.3%, about 500,000 census workers will visit about 56 million households that have not yet filled out the survey, according to the Census Bureau.

“America has answered the call and most households responded to the census online, by phone or by mail,” Steven Dillingham, Census Bureau director, said. “To ensure a complete and accurate count, we must now go door-to-door to count all of the households we have not heard back from.”

This is the final stage of ensuring a complete count. All operations will cease Sept. 30 and the Census Bureau will work to deliver counts to the White House and Congress by December.

“Considering we’re operating in a pandemic with little in-person outreach and really relying on social media and our other efforts, outreach through nonprofits, I think we’re doing pretty well, frankly, compared to previous years,” Koch said.

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