Census results can be tracked online

The U.S. Census Bureau and Google teamed up to create an interactive map that charts participation rates across the United States. The map, powered by Google Earth and Google Maps, went live Monday, and already local officials are taking advantage of the instant access.

“I think it’s great. In the past, we would have had to guess, but you have something that’s concrete,” said Cheryl Harrington, census coordinator for Prince George’s County. “It makes our jobs easier.”

The map, which is updated daily, can be found at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map. Rates for each state and county are determined by the percentage of households that mail back the census form after receiving it. Currently, only 13 percent of the total U.S. population has submitted the census form that was mailed just last week.

Montgomery County has a 24 percent return rate so far, which matches the state average. Montgomery County spokeswoman Sue Tucker said the county has been actively encouraging its residents to be counted, and targeting areas such as Gaithersburg, Wheaton and Takoma Park.

Tucker said these areas tend to have higher concentrations of immigrants, but according to Loudoun County demographer Jill Allmon, not all hard-to-count areas look the same.

“There’s really no correlation, because you’ll see some of the wealthy areas tend to hold back,” said Allmon, who used the new Google map to discover Leesburg would need attention this year.

The majority of Leesburg residents are middle-income, according to Allmon. In the 2000 census, the southwest rural area of Loudoun County was considered hard to count. This region is primarily made up of higher-income residents.

For those looking to follow a specific region, the interactive map features a tracking widget that may be posted on a Web site.

Returned census forms must be postmarked by April 1 to be counted. Local county officials are encouraging all residents to fill out the short form, if anything, for the money. More than $400 billion in federal funding will be distributed based on the results to build schools, roads and medical facilities.