U.S. Census count to end Friday morning as student neighborhoods under-report

Madison residents have until the morning of Oct. 16 to fill out the 2020 Census. The U.S. Census Bureau will accept responses online until 4:59 a.m. on Friday morning, while paper forms must be postmarked by Oct. 15.

Madison’s self-response rate is currently at 75.7%, with parts of Madison along the isthmus showing lower response rates compared with the city as a whole.

“I understand that many households have already been counted and I appreciate that, but the folks that are hardest to count are likely the folks that remain uncounted at this time,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway stated at a press briefing Thursday.

Students make up a significant portion of Madison’s population—over 40,000 of the total 259,680 residents. Since the count will be based on where people live on April 1, 2020, the City urges the numerous college students that live on and off campus to complete the Census using their Madison-area address.

“When responding to the 2020 Census, UW–Madison students should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time as of April 1, 2020,” the university advises. “For most students, that means in Madison, not back home with their parents.”

The City has worked with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to encourage students to fill out the 2020 Census, including partnering with University Housing to ensure that students in dorms receive their correct Census forms. 

However, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption of campus life, students who are unsure if they’ve been counted should still submit their information. The Census Bureau will filter out duplicate responses to guarantee that each individual is counted at the correct address.

“Folks do have until very, very early tomorrow morning to fill out the Census if they haven’t done so yet,” the Mayor concluded. 

Online responses to the 2020 Census can be filed on My2020Census.gov.

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