Chatham Census Returns Above Average; Township Leads in Return Percentage

National Census Day last Thursday saw President Obama get in front of a camera and fill out his census form in an effort to encourage others to do the same.

And in Chatham, attempts to encourage people to mail their forms to large collection centers are apparently working.

As of Monday, Chatham Township has a 71 percent census form return rate, and the borough has a 70 percent return rate, according to data on the official Census Web site. That is above the state average of 59 percent and the national average of 60 percent.

Some parts of the township and borough are doing better at returning their forms than others. The portion of the township east of Southern Boulevard has mailed back their forms at a 73 percent rate, while 68 percent of people west of Southern have returned their forms.

The numbers are a bit more even in the borough. The area roughly north of Main Street and the New Jersey Transit tracks has a 69 percent return rate, while the area south of Main clocks in at 70 percent.

Two Patch towns have decided to bring the collection effort to a whole new level. South Orange and Maplewood are competing against one another to see which town's residents can return the most forms. Maplewood currently leads, 63 percent to 60 percent.

As far as neighboring municipalities go, Madison has a 67 percent return rate, while Florham Park is at 68 percent, Millburn is at 67 percent, Long Hill is at 70 percent, Harding is at 65 percent and Summit is at 66 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau is continuing to hire part-time census takers that will go around to homes to collect unreturned forms. For more information, visit its Web site.