Your Fair Share in the Press

• Jersey City Census Challenge Begins
  Hudson Reporter asks, “Were 20,000 residents missed?”
• The Miami Herald
  Cities must challenge U.S. Census count
• American Public Media’s Marketplace
  Detroit’s stunning population loss means new budget concerns

While the Census Bureau conducts a full Census to count each individual in the country once a decade, ten years can be a long time and a lot can change between decennial Censuses. To keep their estimates current, each year the Census Bureau collects data from governing agencies at all levels around the country to estimate how the population has changed over the year. To do this the Bureau employs a combination of data sources to estimate internal and international migration, but the bulk of the estimate for any one town comes from analyzing new constructions and demolitions of residential units. A community that builds many new houses is assumed to be growing in population while a community that does not, or which is demolishing many homes, is estimated to be shrinking. Many large national retailers and investors use Census derived estimates too determine the market potential of a community when deciding whether to invest there, so accurate Census estimates are key to making your community’s economic vitality known. 

the Your Fair Share Program Summary

Can Your Fair Share help your area? Check out local census results below:

SIGNIFICANCE OF ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES

• Over 170 federal programs incorporate census population estimates into formulas that determine the range and level of funding available for cities.


• Retailers, financial institutions and other private sector investors each year rely on census population estimates to inform their investment decisions across cities.


• Census population estimates contribute, directly or indirectly, significantly to the perception of a city, signaling economic prosperity and opportunity or forecasting stagnation and decline.

In cases where census estimates are inaccurate, cities may not receive their fair share of funding; are overlooked by investors; and are misrepresented as “dying” or “declining,” undermining efforts to stimulate growth.

Unfortunately, local governments do not always have well maintained data and the Census Bureau does not have the resources to meticulously comb through and standardize the data for every section of the country at once; so in 2001 the Census Bureau unveiled a program called the Census Challenge, allowing local governments to supplement their standard building permits data with other data sources to help the Census Bureau refine and improve its methodology and estimates. While the Challenge program was successful in adding over one million people to their population counts,

To further the Social Compact’s and the Census’ mutual goal of getting the most accurate population estimates possible, Social Compact is developing a training program to assist 50 cities around the country to improve their data collection and management to ensure better, more accurate data and a smoother working relationship between cities and the US Census Bureau. Through training, workshops, and other technical assistance and outreach tools we can raise awareness about the importance of good data and statistical estimates, improve the quality of data collection and utilization to ensure that the economic vitality of communities is accurately reflected in the data, and foster communication and connection with the Census Bureau to more effectively communicate each other’s needs and build a stronger working relationship. 

E-Mail Social Compact to see how to get your fair share.