Grant, Adams counties census reporting results

SOUTH COUNTY — Grant and Adams counties are behind the national and state averages for self-responding to the 2020 census. According to the census website 2020census.gov, as of Sunday, June, 14, the national self-response rate is currently 61.4 percent. The self-response rate for Washington state is 66.8 percent.

By contrast, Grant County’s self-response rate is 51.2 percent, while Adams County is 50.1 percent. Of South County cities, Othello has the highest self-response rate at 51.5 percent. Warden has a self-response rate of 31.0 percent. Royal City’s rate is 19.1 percent, while Mattawa has a rate of 18.4 percent.

Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution allows for a census every 10 years to count the population in order to apportion “representatives and direct taxes.” The census also helps give an accurate picture of where funding should be going, what services are needed and the growth trends for a particular area.

Those who have not yet responded to the census can fill out the census online, by phone or via mail. To learn more, visit 2020census.gov.