Census 2020 still hiring, still counting

Make Yourself Count

Like the button says: Make Yourself Count Mike Maltais/QCH

Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2020 10:52 am

Mike Maltais, Staff writer

QUAD CITIES – The Census 2020 count continues, and enumerators are still needed to get the job done in recognized low-response areas like Okanogan County where only 38.2 percent of the residents have self-responded, according to the website 2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html. When the last nationwide census was taken a decade ago in 2010, 44 percent of county residents self-responded. The 2020 statewide rate of self-response is 67.3 percent.

Applicants interested in joining the census team can apply online at 2020census.gov/jobs or contact Recruiting Assistant/Census Response Representative Leslie McNamara at Leslie.G.McNamara@2020census.gov or by phone or text at 509-885-4349.

Households can self-respond to the census and complete the questionnaire online at my2020census.gov of by phone at 844-330-2020. Those who do not self-respond will be visited by a census worker though the coronavirus conditions may keep that process on hold for a few more weeks, McNamara said.

The non-profit group Census NCW at 766 S. Mission St. in Wenatchee, is assisting in the count through its Facebook site and with booths set up to encourage citizens to respond to the census. Though not employed by the U.S. Census Bureau, Census NCW can help answer questions about the counting.

As of April 1, 2020, numbers, Okanogan County with 43,130 residents represents about one-half percent (.005%) of the state’s 7,656,200 residents. Douglas County is just a shade higher with 43,750 residents. In the 10 years since the last census, Douglas County has added 5,319 residents while Okanogan County has increased by 1,910 people according to figures compiled by the Office of Financial Management (ofm.wa.gov).

During the same 10-year period population shifts in the Quad Cities looks like this:

Pateros: 667 (2010) 595 (2020)

Brewster: 2,370 (2010) 2,420 (2020)

Bridgeport: 2,409 (2010) 2,500 (2020)

Mansfield: 320 (2010) 330 (2020)

Pateros, the only city among the four to lose numbers saw a decline of 140 residents in the wake of the 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire that destroyed nearly three dozen homes that year. The city has been experiencing a slow but steady population increase since then.