Pawhuska lags behind on Census responses

Osage County residents still have the opportunity to respond to the 2020 U.S. Census and they are encouraged to do so.

Overall, the state of Oklahoma’s self-response rate to the 2020 Census was just 53.6 percent as of May 21, but the self-response rates for several Osage County communities were much lower, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Census Bureau data showed a 22.5 percent self-response rate for Pawhuska as of May 21. Other community self-response rates as of May 21 were: Barnsdall, 13.9 percent; Hominy, 21.7 percent; and Fairfax, 22.7 percent.

You can respond to the Census online, by telephone or via U.S. Mail. You can respond online even if you do not have a unique Census ID code, which many residents received in the mail. If you want to respond online, but do not have a Census ID, you just go to the Census form online, then select “Start Questionnaire,” and then choose the link that says, “If you do not have a Census ID, click here.”

If you lack a device that would allow you to connect to the Internet, you can visit your nearest public library and ask about using a computer to respond to the U.S. Census.

It is highly encouraged for everyone to respond. Federal funds for numerous uses are divided up based on Census data. According to the Census Bureau, responses to the 2020 Census shape decisions about how billions of dollars in federal funds flow into communities each year. Health care, emergency response, schools and education programs, and roads and bridges are all impacted by the 2020 Census, the Bureau said.