The U.S. Census Bureau says Hawai'i continues to trail most of the rest of the country in the return of census forms.

It said yesterday that as of Friday, Hawai'i had a census mail response rate of 65 percent. That placed Hawai'i 46th among the states, tied with Oklahoma, and ahead of West Virginia, Louisiana, New Mexico and Alaska.

Wisconsin led the nation with an 80 percent response rate.

The 2010 Census is now moving into the door-to-door phase.

Beginning Saturday, Census Bureau workers will start visiting homes that have not responded. Each home visit is estimated to cost U.S. taxpayers $60 to $70.

State officials have said every person who isn't counted costs the state about $1,200 in lost federal funds.