UPDATE ON FINAL DAYS OF THE QUAD CITIES 2020 U.S. CENSUS EFFORT
![Alderwoman Marion Meginnis addresses community on the importance of completing your census. Alderwoman Marion Meginnis addresses community on the importance of completing your census.](https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6481372/Image/News Images/censuspress.jpg)
Sept. 21, 2020 – On Monday, September 21, 2020, members of the Quad City Complete Count Committee held a press briefing to encourage all residents in the Quad Cities to complete their 2020 Census. The deadline to complete the 2020 Census, which had been extended to October 31, 2020 as a result of COVID-19, will now be ending on September 30, 2020.
Alderwoman Marion Meginnis, chair of the Davenport Complete Count Committee, announced that the City of Davenport and the Census will partner to host an event to allow citizens to complete their census if they have not yet done so. The event will be held on Thursday, September 24, 2020 from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Main Street and Fairmount Library branches. Citizens who complete their Census during this event will receive a Whitey’s gift card and Census gear for their participation. Census workers will be available on site to assist residents with any questions they may have.
Davenport has a current self-response rate of 68.5%, lower than the City’s self-response rate of 71% during the 2010 Census. Davenport officials stated that a complete count of all Davenport residents is crucial to ensuring federal funding for the community. The Census is critical in determining how to allocate more than $590 billion annually.
“It is estimated that for each resident who is counted in Davenport, the City receives $1,600 annually in various forms of federal funding, such as money for housing programs, infrastructure improvements, and school funding. At our current response rate, Davenport stands to miss out on nearly $14 million in funding annually. Over ten years, this will amount to a $140 million loss of federal funding in our community,” said Alderwoman Meginnis.
The Census also determines how many people will represent Davenport in state and federal legislatures.
The Complete Count Committee has encouraged businesses and local organizations to assist in ensuring a high response rate in Davenport by allowing their employees to complete the Census while at work and to open up their facilities for community members to utilize technology to complete the Census.