Sioux Falls receives census grant

The city of Sioux Falls has received a $20,000 grant to boost census response in the city.

The National League of Cities' Census Rapid Response Grant will be used to distribute print and digital marketing materials to help spread the word on the importance of filling out census forms.

Officials say while the outreach is aimed at all citizens, though there will be an increased focus on non-English speaking people and seniors who may need assistance within the community.

Currently, Sioux Falls has an overall self-response rate of 68.3 percent. With the 2010 Census, the community had a 73.8 percent response rate.

According to George Washington University’s Counting for Dollars Project (August 2017), South Dakota loses as much as $1,597 for each missed person in a Census count. That equals $15,970 over ten years per person missed. In Fiscal Year 2016, South Dakota received $2,386,951,373 through 55 federal spending programs guided by data derived from the 2010 Census.