54 percent mailed census forms

WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- Officials with the U.S. Census Bureau are urging households that have not mailed back their census forms to do so before mid-April.

The officials said 54 percent of the estimated 134 million households in the United States mailed back their forms by the April 1 deadline and the bureau will continue to accept the forms until the middle of the month.

Census workers will begin visiting homes that did not mail back forms May 1.

"The Census Bureau and I would like to thank everyone who has already taken 10 minutes to fill out and mail back the 2010 Census," Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said. "For those who have not yet had a chance to send it back, I'd like to reiterate that it's not too late to participate and doing so will save a lot of taxpayer money."

The bureau said it costs only 42 cents to receive a response by mail, while it costs $57 per household visit by a census worker.