The Census Bureau reported that Philadelphia, so far, has the second-lowest response rate of the nation’s ten largest cities.
Deep poverty, the kind that means no internet access, is one of the chief obstacles to census participation, even before COVID-19 shut libraries that offered an alternative. Philadelphia has the highest deep poverty rate of the ten largest cities.
But one of Philadelphia's assets has become another liability in these times. Stephanie Reid of Philly Counts said its wealth of colleges currently shuttered means thousands of students the city will need to accommodate in the next ten years are not responding.
"This is actually a huge factor in Philadelphia right now," she explained. "If you look at the areas of low response, it is very profound in the areas around colleges and universities, definitely our lowest response rates."
Reid said her office is doing outreach but still managing to get only about 25% of student residents.
"That's one of those things that we are working with the Census Bureau to try to find solutions for. It is not easy," she said.
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Lots of other cities have those challenges, according to Reid, but few face both. "Boston has a high number of students but not as many people living in poverty. You look at Detroit, they have a high number of people in poverty but not a high number of students. We’re really getting double-whammied," she said.
The Census Bureau recognizes COVID-19 is interfering with an accurate count and has extended the self-response deadline by three months. Reid is optimistic that Philly Counts' partnerships and strategies will get a full count. More than ever is at stake.
"That data is going to be crucial for insuring that Philadelphia gets its fair share of funding to recover from the impact of COVID-19," she said.