BOONE, Iowa—Census takers have begun making calls on Iowans who have not completed the 2020 Census.  Sam Fettig is the Partnership Coordinator for Iowa and Minnesota for the Census Bureau says there have been a few adjustments because of weather, but the goal is to get the census information completed by the end of September.

The actual response in Iowa and Boone County has been very good.  The national response rate was at 64.6% and the rate for Iowa was at 69.5%.  Boone County’s response rate to this point was 72.4%.  That compares to 72.2% for Dallas County, 70.3% for Polk County, 69.2% for Story County, followed by Hamilton at 68.3%, Greene County at 67.4% and Webster County at 66.4%.

The City of Boone has a response rate at 71%, Ogden at 70.9% and Madrid at 70.8%.

Fettig says those that have not completed the census can still do so online at 2020Census.gov or by calling 844-330-2020 between 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. seven days a week.  Fettig says Census takers will be wearing badges and residents can confirm their identity by calling the Chicago Region Census Center at 312-579-1500.  He also said Census takers will follow local public health guidelines, wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing.

Census data is used a number of ways, particularly for the distribution of federal and state funds based on population.  The goal is to count everyone who lives in the United States as of April 1, 2020.