Big Sur leaders push the census to residents in a rural region notoriously hard to tally.

The rugged country of Big Sur has long attracted people with independent spirits and a desire to be off the grid. For some, off the grid means away from the eyes of government, a real challenge every 10 years when the U.S. Census rolls around.

“There’s a general sense of, ‘the less government has a sense of what I’m doing, the better,’” Butch Kronlund, executive director of the Community Association of Big Sur, says of some residents. “Let’s face it, you don’t move to a place like Big Sur if you’re seeking attention.”

Kronlund believes that Big Sur has historically been undercounted in past census years, which translates into less federal funding for critical services including the Big Sur Health Center, school lunches and improving Highway 1. An accurate count is timely as the county moves toward opening during Covid-19.

Big Sur community leaders are being proactive about trying to count all residents this year. They received grants from the Community Foundation for Monterey County to finance their efforts. The Monterey County 2020 Census Complete Count Committee provided them with a videographer last week to create social media posts to get the word out.

The 2010 Census counted 1,700 people as Big Sur residents, but Kronlund believes there were and are more behind locked gates or in homes with no addresses. He estimates there could be 500 people living in employee housing at locations like Esalen and Post Ranch.

As of May 31, the response rate for the largest census tract in Big Sur was 21 percent, compared to 56 percent for Monterey County and 61 percent for California overall. The census is currently scheduled to end Oct. 31.