Members of the Black, Latino, and Native American population were not counted in the 2020 national censusnew data from the United States Census Bureauwhich could affect political representation and federal funding for communities with significant minorities.
The once-a-decade national population count is used to draw state and county legislative seats. United States Congress in every state, as well as to help distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds for everything from public housing to Medicare to highway construction.
Thursday’s report from the Census Bureau relied on statistical analyzes to test the accuracy of the census results.
For decades, the census has overcounted white people and undercounted people of color, but those trends accelerated during the 2020 census, the report showed.
The census count of the Latino population It was probably 5% too low, more than triple the estimated count for the 2010 census, the bureau said. No more than 3% of blacks were included, while American natives and Alaska Natives on reservations were undercounted by more than 5%, both numbers worse than 2010.
The non-hispanic white and the asians they were overcounted, the office said.
The 2020 census faced several challenges, including the coronavirus pandemicwhich forced the office to temporarily suspend its door-to-door operations and may have made some households more reluctant to talk to interviewers.
Demographic experts have also said that a failed attempt by the former president donald trump of asking census respondents if they were United States citizens may have deterred Latino populations to respond.
“The 2020 census continued to underestimate some races and ethnic groups while overestimating others,” he told reporters at a virtual news conference. Timothy Kennell, Deputy Head of Statistical Methods Division. “Even with the limitations, the 2020 census data is fit for many uses and for decision-making.”
Census results released last year showed an increasingly diverse nation, with the non-Hispanic white population declining for the first time in history.
The data released Thursday included only national estimates. A more detailed analysis at the state level is expected this summer.