2010 Census National participation rate surpasses 50% mark.

More than 50 percent of the nation’s households have returned their 2010 Census forms, just weeks after about 134 million questionnaires were mailed or hand-delivered to homes across the country, according to mail participation rates recorded Tuesday.

Leading the way were five central and upper Midwestern states: South Dakota (62 percent), North Dakota (61 percent), Nebraska (60 percent), Iowa (58 percent) and Wisconsin (58 percent).

“We’re off to a great start, but we still have a ways to go to before getting a complete count of the nation,” Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said. “If everyone in the nation took the 10 minutes needed to fill out and mail back their 2010 Census form, we could cut the cost of conducting the census by $1.5 billion.”