Brickell has one of the lowest Census response rates in Miami. It could cost millions.
A little more than half of the city of Miami’s households have filled out U.S. Census inquiries, and swaths of the city’s dense downtown and Brickell neighborhoods have among the lowest response rates.
Only about 53% of households in the city of Miami have filled out Census forms. In several areas stretching from Edgewater to downtown and Brickell, the participation rate is as low as 30% to 45%. By comparison, the county’s overall response rate is about 62%. About 67% of households in the cities of Hialeah and Miami Gardens have completed Census questionnaires. In Miami Beach, only about 42% have responded.
The U.S. government uses the Census to determine how many people live in the country and how to allocate resources accordingly. Miami and South Florida stand to gain more political representation in Congress, likely one or two additional seats in the House of Representatives, according to estimates. Millions in federal funding for schools, hospitals, roads and other community needs would be lost if there is not a complete count of the population.
With five days left to respond, elected officials on Thursday pleaded with residents to fill out Census forms online or by mail, and property managers were asked to allow enumerators into residential towers to count people in person.
“We’re never going to receive the money that we deserve if we don’t know many people are living in our city,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Households can participate in the Census by either mailing in their Census 2020 forms after filling them out, or by going online to file at https://2020census.gov/en.html. People can complete the questionnaire over the phone by calling 844-330-2020.
The final date of the U.S. Census Bureau’s count is unclear due to legal challenges from President Donald Trump’s administration. While the matter is sorted out in the courts, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the “target date” to end counting is Oct. 5.
Officials are taking these next several days to push locals to get counted. Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr., who has led the county government’s efforts to promote the Census, said the city of Miami ranks 28th among the county’s 34 municipalities.
Standing outside the Brickell Park Condo, where 30.2% of households have responded, Bovo urged people to let Census workers inside their towers or just fill out the forms online, on paper or respond on the phone.
“We need to get those numbers up,” he said. “We don’t have time. Regardless of what may be going on at the federal level with lawsuits going back and forth, we’ve been extended by the Secretary of Commerce another five days. Oct. 5 will be the day that we are done with our work.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the Census for several months, including a suspension of the Census Bureau’s field operations for a time. Still, concerns over an undercount in Miami’s urban core are not new.
A decade ago, Miami faced the same issue in the final days of a normal Census effort, which was near its end in April 2010. At that time, officials were alarmed by a 39% response rate in the Brickell Avenue corridor and visited condo towers to urge participation.
In 2000, the response rate was much higher, about 66%, though the area was less densely populated than it is today.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
