In an effort to encourage households to “take 10 minutes” to fill out and mail back their census questionnaires, the U.S. Census Bureau has launched a real-time, interactive map to track 2010 Census mail returns online. The “Take 10” Map of the United States allows site visitors to see the percent of people in the nation, a state, a city or even a neighborhood who have completed and returned their 2010 Census forms by mail. The rates will be updated daily.

To access the map, go to http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map. The Take 10 Map will allow you to click on a locality - down to zip code level - and see its 2010 Census mail participation rate. You also will find a Census 2000 mail participation rate for comparison. A Take 10 tracker widget is available for downloading to Web sites.

“We’re urging government officials, complete count committees, as well as census partners and stakeholders in North Carolina to issue a Take 10 Challenge,” said William W. Hatcher, regional director for the Census Bureau. “The idea is to create friendly competition among states, towns, organizations and even neighborhoods to encourage people to complete and return their questionnaires. In the end, everybody wins.”

Census results are used to determine the number seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for each state, the shape of legislative and local government districts, and how more than $400 billion in federal funds is distributed annually to communities across the country. The U.S. Constitution mandates a full count of the population every 10 years.

Monday, March 15, marked the start of “mail out” — the process of sending 2010 Census forms to 120 million mailboxes across the nation. While it costs the government just 42 cents for a postage- paid envelope when a household mails back the form, it costs $57 to send a census taker to knock on doors and follow up with each household that fails to respond. The Census Bureau estimates that if every household completed and mailed back its census form, taxpayers could reduce the cost of taking the census by $1.5 billion. Beginning May 1, census takers sworn to confidentiality will begin visiting households that have not returned questionnaires to collect census information.

The Census Bureau will provide the last mail participation rate update on the Take 10 interactive map May 3.

April 1 is Census Day. Every person living in a residence should be listed on the confidential census form, including relatives and nonrelatives, as of April 1. People should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time. You should not wait until April 1 to return the census form but return it immediately upon receipt. All personal census information is kept confidential under Title 13 of the U.S. Code, which also requires census participation.