The data presented in this paper strongly suggests that the high net undercount of young children that has been seen in the past several U.S. Censuses is likely to be seen in the 2020 Census. This analysis shows children have a higher net undercount than adults and that Black and Hispanic children have substantially higher net undercounts than others in the 2020 Census. A similar pattern was seen in the 2010 Census.
Concerns about child data from the 2020 Census mean child advocates and stakeholders should remain engaged in the work of the Census Bureau’s and the data coming out of the 2020 Census. It is particularly important to monitor the work of the new cross-directorate team at the Census Bureau to see how their work will impact the accuracy of the upcoming ACS data as well as for the next census.
