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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Are 2020 census self-response rates on track to be lower than usual?

Sunday, September 20, 2020
By Christopher Hutton
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NO

The 2020 census self-response rate, measuring completion rates online, by mail or over the phone, is on track to match the rate in previous censuses, allaying some worries about the impact of the pandemic on the decennial effort. As of Sept. 15, the self-response rate was 65.9%, ahead of this year's original goal of 60%. The final rate was 74% in 2010 and 67% ten years earlier.

The bureau moved up the deadline one month to Sept. 30, including personal follow-up with 50 million non-responding households, carried out by a field force budgeted at 435,000 "enumerators." More uncertainty surrounds that part of the process. The bureau reports varying completion rates around the country. Workers told The San Francisco Chronicle that they were being offered reassignment to other areas before their work was complete. "It's just been so crazily organized," one said.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Census: 2020 self-complete response rates by state
US Census: 2020 follow-up completion rates state by state
US Census: Announcement of earlier census deadline
US Census: 2010 response rate
US Census: 2000 response rate
Government Accountability Office: August report to Congress on status of census
San Francisco Chronicle: Census workers say they were told the counting is over
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.