Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

TRI-STATE AREA -- The U.S. Census Bureau designated today as the last day you could mail your census forms before receiving a visit from a door-to-door census worker.

But if you forgot, it's not too late to be counted.

Officials we talked with say go ahead and mail in your form as soon as possible.

That will save tax dollars spent each time a census worker knocks on a door.

If you lost your form or didn't receive it...visit your local city hall for a copy.

KHQA shows you where the Tri-states stand in the census so far, and why it's so important to be counted.

Adams County and the city of Quincy are far above the national and state averages when it comes to returning census forms...79 percent and 80 percent respectively.

Despite those high numbers, Quincy Mayor John Spring says the Quincy downtown area and areas west of 12th Street still are lacking.

Other areas with low census returns include the town of Mendon and Honey Creek Township.

Mayor Spring says every form counts toward making sure each community gets its fair share of federal money.

Spring said, "This is probably the most important thing we can do in the next ten years because all of the federal money is given on a per capita basis. There's more than $400 billion to be distributed in each of the next ten years to municipalities and villages, so it's important to get a good count."

For example, the Quincy and Adams County could lose $1500 over the next ten years for every person who is not counted. When you start talking about hundreds of people...that lost money adds up fast.

Mayor Spring adds census numbers also help businesses determine where to set up shop, helping cities like Quincy attract retailers and other employers to the community.

Spring said, "If we show growth, the chances of bringing in added businesses or companies to look into your community, that goes hand-in-hand in providing jobs."

Officials encourage you to mail in your census forms now. Door-to-door census workers will be out in full force starting May first in hopes of getting an accurate count.

We checked with Hannibal and other communities for a look at their returned census numbers.

Hannibal is one of the top 25% of cities in Missouri as far as return rates...checking in at 71%

Macomb is just below that at 70 percent while McDonough County is a bit higher at 72%.