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Census response rates vary by Dayton neighborhood

DAYTON — The City of Dayton is urging people to fill out the 2020 census.

Data from the city’s website shows the self-response rates from the city’s 51 neighborhoods. The range is from about 75 percent in Pleasant Hill to about 25 percent in Riverdale.

Mayor Nan Whaley said neighborhoods with higher vacancy rates, more poverty, less access to internet, and more immigrants have lower response rates.

She is encouraging everyone to fill out the census because government funding is tied to the final count.

“Especially when we look at something like a pandemic that we’re going through, the population number bases all kinds of ways that we get federal and state help,” Mayor Whaley said.

Sending in the census is a priority for William Hurley, who is homeless in Dayton.

“I want to be counted. I want to be part of something,” Hurley said.

Whaley said it important for the city’s homeless population to fill out the census.

“Making sure that we have these counts be accurate is just really important for us for the next ten years to be able to provide these really, really necessary services when there's no where else to turn,” Whaley said.

The Census Bureau extended the deadline to fill out the census to October 31st, due to COVID-19.

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