City of Jacksonville 2020 Census Campaign
In January 2021, the City of Jacksonville was recognized in the U.S. Census Bureau's Best Practices Showcase Newsletter for its efforts during the 2020 Census. The City of Jacksonville and its partners generated broader community engagement during the 2020 Census, and it realized its goal of increasing self-response to ensure a more complete and accurate count of its residents. By investing in this strategy, the City of Jacksonville created an effective, sustainable system for executing a cross-sector, county-wide Census campaign providing a solid foundation for future Census efforts. Click here to view the City of Jacksonville's Duval Counts 2020 Census Impact Report.
Duval County 2020 Census Highlights:
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Increased by 4.5% in self response from 2010
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Ranked #11 out of 67 Florida counties, which is an increase from #22 in 2010
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Ranked #1 out of the 9 largest populated counties for self-response in Florida
Overview:
In partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, Mayor Lenny Curry and his administration launched the City of Jacksonville Duval Counts Complete Count Committee and developed a community-wide partnerships strategy and media campaign to ensure a complete and accurate count in Duval County. The City of Jacksonville coordinated with existing and new strategic partners to leverage their natural communication and partnership routes to deliver the 2020 Census message and to create momentum and engagement for self-response. To strategically target efforts, the City completed an in-depth analysis of the 2010 Census response rates and Low Response Scores as well as analyzed and reported out 2020 Census self-response data regularly to stakeholders.
During the 2020 Census campaign, the Duval Counts Complete Count Committee engaged with over 115 strategic partners organizations within 17 key industries across the public, private and philanthropic sectors through approximately 105 community meetings/presentations. The City established a community ambassadors’ network of local leaders who serve as trusted voices to share the 2020 Census message. It developed the Duval Counts Community Ambassador Newsletter to provide ambassadors with a virtual toolkit to educate and motivate their communities, which included sample media content. Overall, the City sent 15 email newsletters to over 750 community ambassadors.
The City of Jacksonville appropriated $150,000 for a paid localized media campaign to encourage residents to complete the Census, specifically focusing on the hard to count. It also utilized existing media resources and partnerships to share the 2020 Census message with the community at no cost, including hosting a 2020 Census Kick-Off Press Conference lead by Mayor Curry.
In response to COVID-19, the City pivoted its efforts and leveraged the City’s COVID-19 response to reach community members in new ways. It placed localized yard signs at testing sites, distributed notifications through its JaxReady Emergency Preparedness system, shared materials through its COVID-19 programs, and Mayor Curry included messaging in frequent press conferences.
About the 2020 Census:
Once a decade, America comes together to count every resident in the United States, creating national awareness of the importance of the census and its valuable statistics. The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. Visit the City of Jacksonville's 2020 Census webpage to learn about the importance of the 2020 Census.
For 2020 Census results and updates, visit the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 Census webpage by clicking here.
Duval Counts Community Ambassador Newsletters: