2020 Census: So Far 77 Percent Of Newton Homes Have Responded

Jenna Fisher
Updated ·3 min read

NEWTON, MA — It's been a rough year for the 2020 census. Amid pandemic, and social justice protests residents of Newton are responding to the federally mandated questionnaire. Although Newton is ahead of the average state response when it comes to filling out the census, officials who specialize in defending diversity and inclusion, hope even more residents, especially those in traditionally undercounted communities respond, too.

Residents have until August 14 to fill out the Census.

The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census be taken every 10 years to count all people— citizens and noncitizens alike— living in the United States. The law requires an accurate population count, which then serves as the basis for fair political representation. State population counts from the census are used to redraw congressional, state, and local district boundaries, the numbers are used to determine need (and thus funding) for new roads, hospitals, schools and infrastructure.

The coronavirus pandemic prompted U.S. Census Bureau officials to suspend field operations through mid-April, giving a late start to workers who went door-to-door to count the heads of those who hadn't responded. According to the Census Bureau's self-response map, 63 percent of U.S. households have filled out the Census and 65 percent of Massachusetts households have responded either online, by phone or by mail. In Newton, 77.3 percent of homes have responded. If it weren't for the coronavirus, that number could be higher, say officials.

Cambridge, Newton and Waltham all have a higher response rate than in Brookline. Boston with a rate of 53.3 percent is among the lowest in the area.

In 2010, the last Census, Newton's population - then estimated to be around 85,146 - was comprised of 77 percent Caucasian, 14.5 percent Asian, 5.1 percent Hispanic, 3.3 percent two or more races and 3.3 percent African American.

Advocates worry poor, marginalized communities, groups that are traditionally undercounted, stand at risk to be undercounted again this year. According to U.S. Census bureau estimates during the last Census, African Americans were undercounted by 2.1 percent and Hispanics by 1.5 percent, while wealthy white people were over counted.

Advocates say people with low incomes, especially people of color, are more likely than others to rent their homes, making it more difficult for Census Bureau workers to find and count them.Then there are immigrants who do not speak fluent English and, whether or not they immigrated legally, may avoid providing information to the government for fear it will be used against them.

Without an accurate Census, say officials, many municipalities could be denied the funding they should be getting.



How Newton compares to communities nearby:

  • In Westford 81 percent

  • In Chelmsford 80.7 percent

  • In Newton 77 percent

  • In Waltham 63.5 percent

  • In Cambridge 62.1 percent

  • In Brookline 60.2 percent.

  • In Boston 53.3 percent

Got to https://my2020census.gov/ to complete your census this month.

This article originally appeared on the Newton Patch