Those who have not responded to the 2020 census will receive an additional reminder postcard in the mail later this month.

The step is new this year. In place of the postcard, census officials would typically begin visiting homes of people who have not responded to the once-a-decade survey. The coronavirus pandemic, however, has caused officials to take extra precautions, and they are encouraging people to respond online, by mail or over the phone to limit person-to-person contact.

Pennsylvania residents so far have responded to the census at a higher rate than the national average, according to census spokeswoman Susan Licate.

The state’s response rate is 65% compared to the national average of close to 62%. Allegheny County has a response rate of 67.8% while Westmoreland has a rate of 69.4%.

Other Western Pennsylvania county response rates include: Butler, 72.3%; Armstrong, 63.5%; Beaver, 68.1% and Fayette, 60.1%.

The postcards are scheduled to arrive at households between July 22 and 28, a few weeks before census takers will begin visiting houses where people haven’t responded to the census.

Another 1.3 million postcards are being sent to post office boxes in communities that require the use of P.O. boxes. They were sent out starting June 24. Licate noted that census invitations are not sent to P.O. boxes because census responses must be associated with the physical locations where people live, not where they receive mail.

Instead, census takers drop off packets in some communities. As of June 18, 96% of packets had been dropped off.

If a household already responded to the census but receives a postcard, it should be disregarded. Some households that did respond will receive a visit from a census taker anyway as part of a quality check on the census.

More information can be found at 2020census.gov or by calling 844-330-2020.

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