2010 U.S. Census Mail Return Rate Data

The United States Constitution mandates a national census to occur every 10 years in order to calculate proper representation in local and federal government.  The next United States Census will occur in April 2020.  To ensure every resident is counted, Cook County is identifying hard to count areas.
In 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau mailed surveys to occupied housing units in the United States to collect accurate population counts and demographic information.  Not all of the mailed surveys were returned in the time frame designated by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Comparing the numbers of surveys that were mailed to the number of valid surveys returned allowed the Census Bureau to calculate a mail return rate for census tracts across the United States.  Census tracts with mail return rates of 73% or less during the 2010 Census were in the bottom 20% of return rates nationwide.  Tracts that fell below the 73% threshold were designated as containing "hard-to-count" (HTC) populations.
This dataset has two types of information: 1) details on the mail return rates for each census tract in Cook County 2) Estimated demographic characteristics for each census tract in Cook County.
The given mail return rates and the valid returned surveys are raw data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.  The number of forms mailed was calculated by Cook County's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department using these two variables.  Most other demographic information provided in the data comes from the American Community Survey estimates (2013-2018) by census tract.  Some of the demographic variables are derivatives of the raw data. Please see the metadata on the (2010 U.S. Census Mail Return Rates and Demographics by Tract) for details on which variables were calculated by Cook County BOT/GIS as part of this analysis.
The purpose of this data is to describe the demographic characteristics of populations with the best or worst mail return rates.  Variables such as race, age, education, income, and primary language may allow interested parties to investigate what makes a population likely or unlikely to return a survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:

2010 U.S. Census Mail Return Rates and Demographics by Tract

Cook county suburban election precinct boundaries: Please contact Cook County Clerk's Office of Elections
Cook county zip code boundaries: ESRI, Tele Atlas circla 2010
Published on 5/31/2019  Demographic data: 
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Total Population. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Age. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Hispanic or Latino by Race. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Educational Attainment for Population 25 Years and Over. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Employment Status for Total Population 16 Years and Over. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Average Household Income. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
US Census, ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over. Prepared by Social Explorer.com
All Social Explorer demographic data accessed Jun 29 09:13:27 AM CT 2019
For more information please contact us by email: info.edev@cookcountyil.gov
While efforts have been made to be as accurate as possible, Cook County provides the data for personal use “as is”. The data is not guaranteed to be accurate, correct, or complete. Information provided should not be used as a substitute for legal, business, tax, or other professional advice. The recipient/viewer should contact appropriate regulating agencies to determine accuracy or suitability of the data for a particular use. 
Cook County or its staff assume no liability whatsoever for any losses that might occur from the use, misuse, or inability to use its geospatial data, maps or websites.   All materials appearing on a map, geospatial data or County GIS web sites are transmitted without warranty of any kind and are subject to the terms on this disclaimer.