As of Thursday, just under half of Milwaukee households have responded to the census, a pace that lags both the state and nation.

In Milwaukee, 48.8% of households had responded, compared with 51.6% nationally and 58.4% in Wisconsin, said Marilyn Sanders, regional director of the U.S. Census Bureau Chicago Regional Office.

"The decisions that will be made for the next 10 years are dependent on the data that we collect," she said during a virtual news conference with Milwaukee elected and community leaders.

She said many of those decisions are critical during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including in health care, block grant funding and new construction for hospitals and roads.

Census data are used to allocate federal funds in addition to determining the number of seats the state has in Congress and its election wards.

Sanders was among those who on Thursday implored Milwaukee residents to respond to the census.

"There are literally millions, tens of millions of dollars at stake because so many programs both at the national level and at the state level are determined by population," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. "And it's important that our residents be counted."

Paul Vang, director of civic education at the Hmong American Women’s Association, said for more than four decades, tens of thousands of southeast Asian refugees have resettled in Milwaukee. He said filling out the census will allow the city's southeast Asian community to receive needed resources.

And, he said, participating in the census gives the southeast Asian community the opportunity to tell its story.

"Refugee communities are often overlooked by society as a whole. ... Taking the census is one way that we can make sure that our community is visible and represented at the local, state and national level," he said.

And, he said, citizens and non-citizens need to be counted in the census.

The households that haven't responded will receive a paper questionnaire through the mail. They can respond by mail, online at 2020census.gov or by phone at (844) 330-2020.

Under a revised schedule, residents have until Oct. 31 to respond.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.