Populations numbers, statistics and data from the 2020 Census is scheduled to be released to the public on March 31.
However, one statistic is already available – Coffee County did exceptionally well in regards to its response rate.
Out of Tennessee’s 95 counties, Coffee County had a self-response rate of 71.4 percent. That was good enough for 7th best in the entire state, and just 0.1 of a percentage point behind Dickson County for 6th.
“This was a very concentrated and organized effort on behalf of our county by the Census Complete Count Committee,” explained Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell. “We had a whole room full of community leaders and business owners who volunteered their time to help get the word out to everyone who would listen about the importance of the Census count here in Coffee County. I want to sincerely thank them for their efforts and dedication to our community.”
Ensuring as many people as possible are counted means Coffee County and each municipality – Tullahoma and Manchester – will receive the maximum amount of federal funding for programs involving education, transportation and other important programs in each community. For each person who goes uncounted, it is estimated that the county will miss out on about $11,000 in federal funding over the next 10-year cycle.
“I’m very pleased to say that our citizens have really come through to ensure we received the most complete count possible,” said Manchester Mayor Marilyn Howard. “I know this was a big effort by everyone and our three governments worked hard and dedicated funds and manpower to ensure that our citizens understood that completing their Census was important to our future growth.”
