North Carolina above national participation rate to-date
The News & Observer reports that North Carolina at 54% is above the national mail participation rate for the 2010 Census:
"We're above the national number. That's where you want to be," said census spokesman Tony Jones, who works in the Charlotte regional census office. "We're in good shape so far."
Some North Carolina counties are well ahead of others in mailing back completed census forms. Davie and Perquimans counties lead the count at 63% participation, while Durham is at only 49%. Wake county is at the state average of 54%. The national mail participation rate for the 2000 Census was 72%.
That means a decade ago, census workers tried to track down the forms for the missing 28 percent. Dispatching workers door-to-door is expensive, Jones said, and people can help the government save money by mailing back their form. Each mailed form costs the government only 42 cents, while it costs about $57 on average per household that needs to be counted door-to-door. [emphasis added]