Mineola, Winnsboro and Quitman lead the way in responses to the 2020 U.S. Census.

The challenge issued by County Judge Lucy Hebron ends on Thursday, and the latest from the Census Bureau shows that 60.9% of Mineola households have responded to the census while in Winnsboro 59.3% have responded. The Quitman response rate was 58.3.

The winner of the judge’s challenge will be treated to dinner at a local restaurant for the city manager/administrator and the mayor and their spouses.

The overall response rate in Wood County was 53.8%, which lags behind the state response rate of 56.6% and the national rate of 61.9%.

Alba reports a 47.4% response, Yantis 44.5% and Hawkins 44.1%.

Responses are running behind schedule due to the measures taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the spring, which is the usual time for gathering the details of the April 1 decennial census.

Census workers have resumed in-person visits – which were postponed – to follow up on initial and subsequent mailings to households.

This marks the first time the census can be completed online. It can also be completed by mail.