With so many people spending more time at home, it might be expected that more households would have a few minutes to spare for responding to the census. However, as of Monday, only half of Limestone County had managed to do so.

Limestone County’s response rate is among the lowest in North Alabama and the lowest compared to neighboring counties, even as the state remained one of the most responsive in the South so far. As of Monday, the U.S. Census Bureau said 50.6% of households in the county had self-responded to the census.

Within the county, self-response rates were even lower in some areas recognized as cities by the U.S. Census Bureau. Ardmore, Elkmont and Mooresville currently have response rates of 40.3%, 37.2% and 36.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, Lester and Athens continue to lead the pack at 50.0% and 52.2%.

Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly encouraged residents to take the few minutes necessary to respond to the census during a media briefing on COVID-19 last week.

“While you’re at home, that’s a great time to finish the census up,” he said.

Residents can visit my2020census.gov to complete the brief questionnaire. Only one response is required per household. The questionnaire does not ask about citizenship but does ask how many people lived in the household on April 1, what kind of residence the address is (apartment, mobile home, etc.) and other information about the household’s members.

The information gathered is used to determine how federal funding is spent in an area, including for programs related to schools, roads and public services. County officials have stressed that funding follows the numbers, not the need, so it’s important for all households to participate.

“When this (pandemic) is over with, our community is going to need lots of help,” Daly said Friday. “A lot of people are really struggling, financially and all, and this will help programs” that help them, he said.

The U.S. Census Bureau temporarily halted field operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, bureau officials recently spoke with lawmakers about plans to restart field operations in phases.

This includes working with colleges and universities to make sure students are counted, sending workers out to make sure homeless individuals are counted, and hiring and training workers who can later this year make in-person visits to households that have not self-responded.

As of Monday, Alabama’s self-response rate was 51.7%, while the national rate was 53.4%.