In “A Nation of Sheep,” I expressed my disappointment that the mail participation rate for Census 2010 is the same as it was for Census 2000. But not all residents of all States were equally compliant. The following table sorts the States by the changes in their participation rates between 2000 and 2010:
| Change in Mail Participation Rate, by State (percentage) | |||||
| State | Census 2000 | Census 2010 | Change | ||
| Wyoming | 72 | 68 | -4 | ||
| Colorado | 73 | 70 | -3 | ||
| Montana | 70 | 67 | -3 | ||
| Nebraska | 79 | 76 | -3 | ||
| North Dakota | 76 | 73 | -3 | ||
| Oklahoma | 69 | 66 | -3 | ||
| South Dakota | 78 | 75 | -3 | ||
| Alaska | 64 | 62 | -2 | ||
| California | 73 | 71 | -2 | ||
| New Mexico | 65 | 63 | -2 | ||
| South Carolina | 65 | 63 | -2 | ||
| West Virginia | 66 | 64 | -2 | ||
| Arizona | 68 | 67 | -1 | ||
| Arkansas | 68 | 67 | -1 | ||
| Connecticut | 75 | 74 | -1 | ||
| Idaho | 75 | 74 | -1 | ||
| Iowa | 79 | 78 | -1 | ||
| Louisiana | 65 | 64 | -1 | ||
| Massachusetts | 74 | 73 | -1 | ||
| Missouri | 74 | 73 | -1 | ||
| New Hampshire | 71 | 70 | -1 | ||
| New Jersey | 73 | 72 | -1 | ||
| Ohio | 77 | 76 | -1 | ||
| Wisconsin | 82 | 81 | -1 | ||
| Kansas | 75 | 75 | 0 | ||
| Maryland | 74 | 74 | 0 | ||
| Michigan | 77 | 77 | 0 | ||
| Mississippi | 67 | 67 | 0 | ||
| Nevada | 69 | 69 | 0 | ||
| Oregon | 74 | 74 | 0 | ||
| Pennsylvania | 76 | 76 | 0 | ||
| Delaware | 68 | 69 | 1 | ||
| Georgia | 69 | 70 | 1 | ||
| Maine | 65 | 66 | 1 | ||
| New York | 66 | 67 | 1 | ||
| Rhode Island | 70 | 71 | 1 | ||
| Texas | 68 | 69 | 1 | ||
| Hawaii | 64 | 66 | 2 | ||
| Illinois | 73 | 75 | 2 | ||
| Indiana | 76 | 78 | 2 | ||
| Minnesota | 78 | 80 | 2 | ||
| Utah | 72 | 74 | 2 | ||
| Vermont | 65 | 67 | 2 | ||
| Washington | 72 | 74 | 2 | ||
| Florida | 69 | 72 | 3 | ||
| Virginia | 73 | 76 | 3 | ||
| Alabama | 66 | 70 | 4 | ||
| Kentucky | 70 | 75 | 5 | ||
| Tennessee | 69 | 74 | 5 | ||
| North Carolina | 66 | 74 | 8 | ||
Source: Census.gov download.
I have highlighted the States in which participation rates changed significantly (i.e., by more than one standard deviation from the mean). Kudos to the residents of Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Honorable mention to the residents of the next seventeen States with negative numbers: Alaska through Wisconsin. Scorn for the lamb-like residents of the thirteen States from Delaware through Washington. And a hearty b-a-a-a to the sheep-like denizens of Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Politics and Prosperity 