OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – West Virginia has one of the lowest participation rates in the country when it comes to the 2020 census.
“We usually have 75 percent participation which is right below the national average. Usually, about 80 to 85 percent is the national average. For whatever reason West Virginia does tend to be below national average, which is unfortunate. But a lot of times in rural areas, a lot of the time people don’t understand the process or don’t have access to the process immediately,” said County Commission Administrator Jeff Miller.
By now you should have received a blue card in the mail from the U.S. Census Bureau to make yourself count in the 2020 census.
“A lot of state and local funding is dependent on that census and the count that we received. So for a lot of things such as education, healthcare, recreation, community facilities, and events, and things that we receive federal funding for the census goes a long way towards that,” said Miller.
If you didn’t receive a blue card in the mail, you can go online to www.2020census.gov and fill out the survey.
“That was a big concern across the state that maybe people haven’t received that card yet or have not been assigned that access code online but you can go online and register without that code. I think a lot of people don’t know that,” Miller said.
You can also fill out the 2020 census survey online, by phone or mail.
