The undercount could affect federal funding, the political representation of Black, Latino and other minority communities in the country.
Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans were undercounted during the 2020 US national census, new data from the US Census Bureau showed, which could affect political representation and funding federal funds for communities with significant minority populations.
The once-a-decade national population count is used to draw US legislative maps in each of the 50 US states, as well as help distribute billions in federal funds for everything from public housing to health care and road construction.
For decades, the census has overcounted white people and undercounted people of color, but those trends accelerated during the 2020 census, according to statistical analyzes from the Census Bureau designed to test the accuracy of the results. of the census.
The Latino population count was likely 5 percent too low, more than triple the estimated count for the 2010 census, the bureau said Thursday.
No more than 3 percent of blacks were included, while Native Americans and Alaska Natives on reservations were undercounted by more than 5 percent, both worse than in 2010. Non-Hispanic whites and Asians were counted in excess, the office said.
The results likely indicate that the US population has become even more ethnically diverse and urban than the official 2020 results showed, and the white majority has shrunk. Census results released last year showed an increasingly diverse nation, with the non-Hispanic white population declining for the first time in history.
The 2020 census faced several challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the bureau to temporarily suspend its door-to-door operations and may have made some households more reluctant to talk to interviewers.
Despite a well-funded campaign, Native Americans hoped that those living on some 300 reservations in the US would not be counted again.
“At the end of the day, when you have your entire religious calendar that has been discontinued, when you search ‘How do I support this huge health risk in my community?’, it really wasn’t on everyone’s mind,” said Ahtza Chavez, executive director of the NAVA Education Project, which led the New Mexico Native Census Coalition.
Demographic experts have said that an ultimately unsuccessful effort on the part of former president donald trump asking census respondents if they were US citizens may have deterred Latino populations from responding.
“The 2020 Census continued to undercount some races and ethnic groups while overestimating others,” Timothy Kennel, deputy division chief for statistical methods, told reporters at a virtual news conference. “Even with the limitations, the 2020 census data is fit for many uses and for decision-making.”
Before the census, civil rights groups had warned that marginalized communities in the US would risk losing access to services if they were not counted accurately.
They accused the Trump administration of seeking to politicize the process and curb minority participation for political gain.
The political balance between states in the 435-member US House of Representatives shifted after the 2020 census resulted in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Montana gaining seats due to population growth , while California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia lost seats.
The data released Thursday included only national estimates. A more detailed analysis at the state level is expected in a few months.