‘Census #1’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

If you couldn’t tell, we love the Census here at We Love DC.  Not only does it give us great data to bust myths with, it helps us figure out how much money we get back from the feds for community facilities and public services.  So we’re hoping that every household in DC stands up to be counted!

Our friends over at the 2010 Census created this neat little map that shows response rates for the Census so far, so you can see how your county/state compares to the current national response rate of 50%.  As of today, here’s the leader board by county:

1st Place (tie): Fairfax County VA and Montgomery County MD, 53%

2nd Place: Arlington County VA, 50%

3rd Place: City of Alexandria VA, 49%

4th Place: Prince George’s County MD, 45%

Last Place: District of Columbia, 44%

Come on District residents, coming in last place to the suburbs is just embarrassing.  So dig out your Census form from underneath your pile of mail, fill it out, and mail it back.

Shannon grew up in the greater DC area/Maryland suburbs, went to Virginia for college and grad school (go Hoos!), and settled in DC in 2006. She’s an urban planner who loves transit (why yes, that is her dressed as a Metro pylon for Halloween), cities, and all things DC. Email her at Shannon (at) WeLoveDC.com!