What is being done about census hard to count areas in Bexar County?

According to latest census estimates, approximately 26% of Bexar County’s current population lives in hard to count neighborhoods

SAN ANTONIO – The 2020 census is critically important to Texas, Bexar County, and San Antonio.

A hard to count map from the U.S. Census Bureau gives a closer look at areas that had a low return rate of mailers in the 2010 census.

Based on the latest census estimates, approximately 25% of Texas’s current population lives in “hard to count” areas and in Bexar County, that rate is approximately 26%.

Census 2020 still hiring in Bexar County

Undercounting can cost Texas $300 million dollars in funding a year for the next decade.

In Bexar County, there are several areas of concern. They are:

  • Just west of I-10 between Wurzbach Road and Medical Drive.
  • Just west of I-10 between Callaghan Road and Loop 410
  • The area around UTSA and The Rim between I-10 and Loop 1604.
  • Southwest Bexar County near Highway 90

Dwayne Robinson, the Bexar County Census 2020 liaison, sayid the county and city are taking a close look at the areas of concern.

He states that these areas have problems for several reasons, like a high concentration of families with children ages 0 to 5, a high concentration of renters and a higher immigrant population.

“One of the things we’re trying to is work through the trusted voices in organizations that are already out in those communities,” Robinson said. “Letting people know that it’s okay, that it’s safe and easy to respond.”

The 2020 Census will begin sending out mailers in March and, for the first time ever, people can complete the census on the internet.

While this option may be easier for some, it would not help those who don’t have access to the internet.

Public libraries and community partners across the city will be allowing people to use their internet access and complete the census.

“I always try to remind people that as we’re out in the community and we’re trying to get folks educated and up to speed on the census and encouraging people to participate because it’s so critically important to our community.”

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About the Author:

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.