Abstract

This Chapter provides readers with many reasons why the Census count is so important, including the fact that Census data are the backbone of our democratic system of government. In addition, Census-related figures are used to distribute more than $800 billion in federal funding each year to states and localities. Countless decisions in the public and private sectors are based on Census data. Moreover, the impact of flaws in Census counts often last a decade because population estimates, projections, and survey weights, are derived from Census counts.

Highlights

  • According to the U.S Census Bureau (2017), data from the Decennial Census are used for many important applications including:

  • Decennial Census counts for states are used for apportioning the seats in the U.S House of Representatives and sometimes small differences can be important in determining which state gets the last seat to be assigned (Conk 1987; Baumle and Poston 2018)

  • One question that always arises in this area is,” How much money does a state lose for each uncounted person?” There is no definitive answer to this question, but an analysis by Reamer (2018) shows that for five programs that use the Federal Matching Assistance Percentage (FMAP) states, on average, would lose $1091 each year for each uncounted person

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Summary

Introduction

To understand the importance of differential Census undercounts and omissions it is important to understand how Census data are used. In addition to our scientific and scholarly interest in obtaining correct Decennial Census counts, there are many practical and policy-related reasons why it is important to assess Census coverage. Census coverage errors are important because they are both a data problem and a social equity issue. According to the U.S Census Bureau (2017), data from the Decennial Census are used for many important applications including:.

Political Power
Distribution of Public Funds
Federal Distribution 2015–2030 Based on Census-Derived Figures
Population Estimates, Projections, and Surveys
Using Census Data for Planning
Using Census Data for
Use of Census Data in Business
Use of Census Data in Civil Rights Protection
Public Perceptions of Growth or Decline
Science and Scholarship
2.10 Census Planning
Findings
2.11 Summary
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