Horry County is lagging behind the rest of the country in filling out the census
Horry County folks: You can’t go to bars, parties or the library, but you can take your time in quarantine to fill out the census to potentially help South Carolina get more funding.
Currently, only an estimated 34.1 percent of Horry County have completed their census form, lagging behind South Carolina and the United States.
Loris (42.4 percent), Aynor (37.9) and Conway (40.8) are all bringing up Horry County’s self-response rates. Myrtle Beach (28.3), North Myrtle Beach (17.9) and Surfside Beach (25.6) are dragging it down.
The United State Census is still moving forward despite the coronavirus. Letters detailing how to apply have been sent out to everyone across the country. The hope is to count every single person living in the country every 10 years.
Across the country, an estimated 45.7 percent have self-responded to the census. South Carolina has a response rate of 41.4 percent.
Census information determines a lot including congressional seats and federal funding. Your responses will not be individually shared with the government.
The survey asks basic demographic information about where you live, who you live with and your race/ethnicity. Immigration status is not a question on the census.
Due to the pandemic, you now have until Aug. 14 to respond online or by phone/mail. Filling out the census on your own, in your own home is the best way to keep yourself and census workers safe right now.
You should have received a form by now in the mail with instructions on how to submit your answers.
Online respondents need to fill out the survey in one sitting.
To submit your responses over the phone, call 844-330-2020 for an English-speaking operator or 844-468-2020 for a Spanish operator. The census offers operators who speak many other languages, a full list of which can be found online.
If you wish to mail in your survey, send it to the return address on the envelope provided in the census information packet sent to your house. Paper questionnaires will be mailed to residents in the coming weeks.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 12:55 PM.
