More than one in three Idaho households have mailed back their questionnaires for the U.S. census. Idaho's 37 percent census participation rate is higher than the federal 34 percent average. Benewah County in north Idaho has the highest response rate among Idaho counties, 51 percent.
Idaho is also complying with the census at a higher rate than Washington, Oregon, and Nevada. Montana and Wyoming both have census participation rates above 40 percent. Utah has a similar 37 percent response rate.
North Dakota has the highest mail-in participation rate, at 47 percent, according to federal census data. The state with the lowest participation rate, as of Monday, is Florida, at 26 percent. If all households mail back their census forms, it could save taxpayers $1.5 billion.
