Michigan 2010 Census Planning : HTC Home

Welcome to the Michigan 2010 Census Planning website, a joint effort of the Community Research Institute (CRI) at Grand Valley State University and the Detroit-Area Community Information System (D-ACIS), in collaboration with the Michigan Nonprofit Association.

The State of Michigan has experienced nearly a decade of employment losses and population outmigration. While these losses have been widespread, the greatest impact has been experienced by our urban areas. Public engagement and an accurate 2010 Census will be critical to Michigan's efforts at turning the ship around. While the loss of another congressional seat appears inevitable, a complete count remains critical for future funding and sub-state representation in Lansing.

The primary purpose of the Michigan 2010 Census Planning website is to assist organizations throughout the State in targeting Census outreach efforts by geography and particular demographic segments where mail non-response is anticipated to be low. In addition, the website will serve as a central repository for 2010 Census information, special programs, innovative ideas from other parts of the country, and general updates. We want this to be a 'one-stop shop' for 2010 Census information for Michigan, a place that you will want to visit often.

Please explore and tell us what you like, what you don't like, and what you would like to see added. We want to be an important player in making the 2010 Census Michigan's most complete and accurate.

Hard-To-Count (HTC) scores are calculated for census tracts ( learn more about HTC scores ). To find out your score and what tract you live in, type your address in the fields below and click GO!

Address	Dir	City	State	Zip

EX: 201 Front Ave		Grand Rapids	MI	49504

Your Score:
-

The Census Bureau created a Tract Level Planning Database for 2010, utilizing Census 2000 Data, that assembles a range of housing, demographic, and socioeconomic variables found to be correlated with mail non-response. The variables included were guided by extensive research conducted by the Census Bureau and others to measure census coverage and to identify reasons people are missed in the census. The variables include housing indicators (percent renters, multi-units, crowded housing, lack of telephones, vacancy) and person indicators (poverty, not high school graduate, unemployed, complex households, mobility, language isolation). Other operational and demographic data were also included (such as race/ethnic distributions).

The Tract Level Planning Database is a resource to support activities such as:

Identifying hard-to-count areas (areas with concentrations of attributes that make enumeration difficult);
Identifying areas with potentially low mail response rates;
Identifying areas where special attention may be needed for Questionnaire Assistance Centers or distribution of Be Counted Forms in languages other than English;
Identifying areas where special outreach and promotion efforts could be considered;
Planning recruitment activities by Regional Census Centers and Local Census Offices.

Hard-To-Count Scores

Every census tract in the country was assigned a "Hard-To-Count" (HTC) score, summarizing the "measured" degree of enumeration difficulty, based on the 12 variables most highly correlated with non-response rates in 1990 and 2000.

HTC scores can range from 0 to 132. The higher the score, the more difficult enumeration is expected to be. Areas with the highest scores (e.g., over 70) are likely to be the areas with relatively high non-return rates and undercount rates while areas with the lowest scores are likely to be areas with low rates.

Limitations of the Data

More up-to-date sources of information may be available through local knowledge of neighborhoods and communities or local administrative records.

We utilize USC WebGIS Services for geocoding.

The following is a series of "ready-to-go" maps for you to download and share. You can also create your own map by using our interactive mapping application above. Enter an address to get your "Hard To Count (HTC)" score and use the "indicator on map" links to visualize that data on the interactive mapping application. With this tool you can also create your own PDF files or images for you to share and use in your grant applications and outreach efforts.