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 Census workers will start knocking on doors on Saturday to count the households of thousands of residents nationwide who failed to mail back their form, but U.S. Census Bureau records show participation rates in many areas of Prince George's County already are on the verge of surpassing what they were in 2000.

As of Monday, about 71 percent of Prince George's County residents had mailed back the 10-question form, matching the county's participation rate by the end of the 2000 Census. About 72 percent of residents nationwide and 74 percent of Marylanders have mailed back the form so far.

The numbers are expected to rise once census workers begin the door-to-door phase of the count, and local officials are crediting grassroots organizing by municipal leaders, churches and civic associations for the strong showing to date.

The Census Bureau is spending an estimated $340 million on outreach — from national television advertising spots to mugs, T-shirts and other census paraphernalia.

But Cheryl Harrington, coordinator of the Prince George's County Complete Count Committee, which is run by the county Planning Department, said she has learned that when it comes to getting residents to fill out and return the form, "face-to-face contact yields a higher bang for your buck."

U.S. Census Bureau spokeswoman Sylvia Ballinger agreed, saying that although promotional items caught people's attention, "We didn't just hand it out. You had to stop and listen to use talk about why the census is important."

The deadline for mailing back the form was April 16, but from now until July 30, residents can call the Census Bureau to give their information by the phone or wait for a census worker to come to their door. The results of the decennial count are used to determine how $400 billion in federal funding is distributed annually to states, counties and other municipalities. The census also determines the number of representatives each state is allocated in the U.S. House, and states use the information to redraw district lines.

Of the 27 cities and towns in Prince George's County, University Park is leading the charge, with a return rate of 83 percent as of Friday, according to census records. The town had an 85 percent participation rate in 2000, a figure town officials expect to beat as more forms are counted and census workers begin their work.

"It's a fairly participatory community to start with," said Mayor John Tabori, citing the fact that residents tend to have high levels of education and are engaged in civic affairs. "This is an audience here that pays attention."

Communities tend to have higher rates of participation when the population is stable and already active in civic life, Harrington said, a description that fits University Park and many of the towns and cities with high participation rates, such as Bowie and Berwyn Heights.

Traditionally hard-to-count communities tend to have a more transient population that is less active in their community, meaning they might not be aware of the census or how the data is used to direct resources to their community or a large immigrant population that may not speak English, she said.

Riverdale Park, which has a large Spanish-speaking population, has had one of the lowest participation rates so far of all county municipalities, with 62 percent of residents returning the completed form as of Monday. But the town had a participation rate of 62 percent in 2000, and Mayor Vernon Archer said he is confident their numbers will rise during the door-to-door phase.

"High immigrant areas tend to be difficult to count, so we've been working on that," Archer said, adding that local officials are working with census officials to pinpoint areas that are harder to count. "It's more or less not what we hoped, but what we were prepared for. ... The count is far from over."

E-mail Zoe Tillman at ztillman@gazette.net.

Census 2010 participation rates as of Monday

-National average: 72 percent

-Maryland average: 74 percent

-Prince George's County average: 71 percent

Highest rates in county:

-University Park: 83 percent

-Bowie: 80 percent

-Berwyn Heights: 78 percent

-North Brentwood: 77 percent

-Cottage City: 75 percent

Lowest rates in county:

-Edmonston: 64 percent

-Bladensburg: 64 percent

-Mount Rainier: 63 percent

-Riverdale Park: 62 percent

-Fairmount Heights: 62 percent

Source: www.2010.census.gov

To submit information in these languages to a census worker, call:

-English: 866-872-6868

-Chinese: 866-935-2010

-Korean: 866-955-2010

-Russian: 866-965-2010

-Spanish: 866-928-2010

-Vietnamese: 866-945-2010