Much of Northern New Mexico’s census operations will start Monday, as officials drop off 2020 census questionnaire packets at front doors as part of a contact-free strategy.

The Las Cruces Area Census Office resumed work this week and the Albuquerque Area Census Office will resume operations Monday. Between the two offices, an estimated 168,000 households that do not receive mail at their physical addresses will receive census packets.

Across the state, 17.8 percent of households don’t have standard mailing addresses, compared to 5 percent across the country. Because the U.S. Census Bureau doesn’t deliver to P.O. boxes, census invitations for these nonstandard addresses are hand-delivered to residences by enumerators.

“Temporary field staff have been trained to observe all social distancing protocols and will wear official government-provided personal protective equipment for their safety and the safety of the public,” the Census Bureau said in a statement.

Census workers began hand-delivering materials March 15, but the Census Bureau suspended all fieldwork March 18 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One in 5 New Mexicans has not received a form because of the interruption in deliveries.

Mora County leads in nonresponse with 99.6 percent of households with a nonstandard address, followed by Catron County at 98.5 percent, Rio Arriba County at 97.5 percent, Taos County at 79.1 percent and Harding County at 78 percent.

The Census Bureau did not respond to requests for comment regarding resuming activities in the Navajo Nation or at Zia Pueblo, both of which have been hit hard by COVID-19.

According to the bureau, packets should be hand-delivered by September.

The state estimates that each uncounted resident results in a loss of $3,700 per year in federal funding.



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