Sioux Falls Gets $20,000 Grant To Help Raise Census Response Rate

The City of Sioux Falls is receiving a $20,000 grant from the federal government in an effort to boost the city's response rate to the 2020 Census.

The official name is the National League of Cities' Census Rapid Response Grant.  Dakota News Now reports the funds will be used to distribute print and digital marketing materials to help get the word out on the importance of filling out your Census form.

According to officials, this new outreach program is intended to reach all citizens, however, there will be an increased focus on those in the community who may need assistance such as non-English speaking people and seniors.

The goal is to boost the current Sioux Falls self-response rate of 68.3 percent.  That is down from the 2010 Census when our community had a 73.8 percent response rate.

The cost of missing the mark on population count is high.  A 2017 study called The Counting for Dollars Project from George Washington University says that South Dakota loses as much as $1,597 for each person missed in a Census count.

The report states that in 2016, South Dakota received $2,386,951,373 through 55 federal spending programs using data from the 2010 Census.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the self-response phase of the Census has been extended to October 31.