Census Undercount
People already disadvantaged by high poverty and low levels of education are most at risk of undercount.
This report draws attention to the U.S. Census Bureau's undercount of rural areas, especially among minority populations with high poverty rates and disproportionately low levels of education. Key findings highlight seasonal employment and other reasons for the undercount, which keeps these communities from receiving their share of public funds.
While populations in rural areas are easier to count than those in urban areas, pockets of hard-to-count populations exist – including Blacks in the rural South, Hispanics in the Southwest border region, and American Indians on reservations in the Southwest and Northern Plains. Efforts are underway to make the rural count more accurate in the 2010 census.