With a Sept. 30 deadline looming, Florida continues to lag behind much of the nation in responding to the U.S. census.

As of Sunday, 92.5 percent of Florida households had responded in the once-a-decade exercise, below the national rate of 95.4 percent, according to information released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Only eight states --- Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico and North Carolina --- had lower response rates than Florida.

Data collection will end Sept. 30 for the census, which plays a key role in apportioning congressional seats and divvying up federal money among states.