1 Million Under 10
In 2000, there was a net undercount of more than 1 million children under age 10 with more than 75,000 children under age 5 missed.
There is neither a simple explanation nor any consensus on why young children are missed so often in the census. But there are a couple of theories about why children might be missed. This report explores those theories, how it affects our political and economic structure, and offers recommendations to overcome the miscount.
Young children are missed in the census at a higher rate than any other age group and minority children are missed most often.
In 2000, there was a net undercount of more than 1 million children under age 10 with more than 75,000 children under age 5 missed.
In almost every state, the undercount averaged 20% of children living in hard-to-count areas.
Minority children age 0 to 4 rose from 41% in 2000 to 47% in 2008.
47% of unauthorized-immigrant households were couples with children.
Approximately 2 million children were affected by the housing crisis, which made it more difficult to get an accurate population count.
Reasons for children being missed in the census count range from their living in hard-to-count neighborhoods to the fact that the census form only has space for six household members. When children are not counted accurately we don’t get a true picture of our nation, and communities don’t get their rightful share of public funds or political power.
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