Filling out the census online helped boost response rates over 2010 census response levels in Lynn and most surrounding communities.
Census information available on Tuesday indicated 9 out of 10 residents in Salem and Lynnfield who filled out the census did so online. In Lynn, online responses weren’t as high, but City Clerk Janet L. Rowe mobilized a census response campaign beginning last December that included youth handing out census information brochures and posting census signs around the city.
Statewide, according to census data, 69.4 percent of Massachusetts residents filled out the census by phone, online, or by filling out a mailed census form. The national response rate was 67 percent.
Lynn logged a 65.9 percent response rate and almost 47 percent of responses were online. Ten years ago, the city’s final response rate was 61.9 percent of residents.
Lynn’s 4 percent gain in census response compared to 2010 was matched in Marblehead and Nahant. Swampscott saw a 5 percent increase over its 2010 response.
Mandated by the United States Constitution and conducted every 10 years, the census counts every person in the United States. The current population count for the nation is 329 million people.
The census is vital for determining the flow of federal dollars to communities and apportioning representation in elected office. For each person not counted, communities could miss out on $2,400 of federal funding.
Peabody logged a 73.4 percent census response rate but only 6 out of 10 residents filled out the form online. Peabody’s final 2010 response rate was 75 percent.
Revere had the region’s lowest response rate with 61.1 percent of residents completing the census and roughly 8 out of 10 residents filling the form out online. Revere’s final 2010 response rate was 62.8 percent.
Salem’s response rate was 65.7 percent and 9 out 10 residents filled out online census forms. The city’s final response rate in 2010 was 68 percent.
In Lynnfield, 82.2 percent of residents responded to the census and nearly 9 out 10 residents filled out the census online. The town’s final 2010 response rate was 79.1 percent.
Almost 80 percent of Marblehead residents replied to the census and 9 out of 10 residents filled out the form online. In 2010, 75.4 percent of residents completed the census.
In Nahant, 76.9 percent of residents replied to the census and the online response rate was 67.7 percent. The town’s 2010 final response rate was 73 percent.
Saugus’ census response rate was 76.7 percent of residents filling out the form with 8 out 10 completing the census online. The town’s final 2010 response rate was 73.2 percent.
In Swampscott, 78.7 percent of residents completed the census and almost 9 out of 10 residents did so online. The town’s 2010 response rate was 73.7 percent.
Michelle Guzman, census outreach program coordinator for the New American Center in Lynn, said census response presented a challenge in cities like Lynn.
“It definitely has been a challenge. It’s not necessarily that people don’t want to answer,” Guzman said during the summer, “There are some who have difficulties with physically using the technology, others have a language barrier.”