Each month the Census Counts team compiles Census-related news from a wide swath of national and regional media outlets to keep data equity stakeholders informed and engaged.
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
February 26, 2024 Census Coalition Clips
National
The New York Times | News How Do People of Middle Eastern and North African Descent Identify?
Accounting for MENA identity in the United States has become particularly relevant this year. The 2024 presidential election could hinge on a handful of swing states like Michigan, where Arab American voters turned out decisively for President Biden in 2020. But Mr. Biden has faced mounting frustration from Arab Americans and others within his party for his support for Israel in the war in Gaza. While people of MENA heritage are by no means monolithic, they do share one common experience in the United States. On official forms, most don’t see themselves represented among the check boxes for race or ethnicity. With few good options, many end up being counted as “white.”
Karen Zraick, Allison McCann, Sarah Almukhtar, Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, & Robert Gebeloff | February 25, 2024
The New York Times | News Asian Americans Are Often Invisible in Polling. That’s Changing
Pollsters face a population problem when gathering public opinion research on Asian Americans: They are the fastest-growing racial group in the country but still make up a relatively small share of the population, so it is rare for pollsters to reach enough respondents in a typical poll to warrant breaking the group’s responses out as a distinct category. Asian American is itself a broad umbrella term used to describe people from multiple countries and vastly different cultures. Polling such a diverse group while accurately reflecting the difference in opinion within the community has traditionally been expensive.
Saurabh Datar | February 24, 2024
Spectrum News | News African American community reconnecting with ancestral roots
African Americans face more barriers than other groups in tracing their lineage because of lack of or poor documentation for enslaved people. African Americans were not included by name in the U.S. Census until 1870. There has been growing interest and resources available for African American genealogy. 76% of African Americans are talking to relatives to learn about their family history according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
Vania Patino | February 23, 2024
National Conference of States Legislatures | News Census Bureau Makes It Easy to Access State Legislative District Data
Take a deep statistical dive into your legislative district by tapping into the U.S. Census Bureau’s data, including the American Community Survey, the nation’s largest survey of households. Get snapshots of your constituents by race, age and sex; school enrollment, educational attainment and ancestry; employment status, occupation and earnings; as well as information about housing structures and costs, owned vehicles and more.
Will Clark | February 21, 2024
Times Union | News Efforts to conduct an accurate 2030 census taking shape
Community advocates and census experts are working to ensure the next once-a-decade count of the U.S. population is more accurate in 2030 after the last census significantly undercounted Black, Hispanic, Latino and Native American populations. The 2020 census shortfalls included missing one out of 20 people who identified as Hispanic and also roughly 3 percent of the Black population, according to estimates released by the Census Bureau. The effort is taking shape as the Biden administration has proposed updating racial and ethnic categories on census forms for the first time in 27 years, including adding a category for those who come from a Middle Eastern or North African country.
Jessica Ma | February 21, 2024
BNN | News U.S. Census Bureau Pilots Inclusive Survey Questions on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
In a groundbreaking move, the U.S. Census Bureau is embarking on a pilot survey to explore the nuances of sexual orientation and gender identity across the nation. Scheduled to reach 480,000 households, this initiative marks a pivotal moment in the quest to document the rich tapestry of American society. With an expected participation rate exceeding fifty percent, the survey aims to shed light on identities that have long been overlooked in demographic studies. The upcoming survey by the Census Bureau is not merely a collection of data; it’s a bold step towards inclusivity and representation. For the first time, questions are designed to capture a spectrum of identities, including transgender and nonbinary options, alongside the traditional male and female categories.
Aqsa Younas Rana | February 20, 2024
States
California
LAist | News A New Attempt To Count Americans Of MENA Descent In California
A new California Assembly bill would require state departments, agencies and commissions that collect demographic data to include an ethnic category for Californians of Middle East and North African descent. Proponents say that AB 2763, known as the California MENA Inclusion Act (MENA stands for Middle East-North Africa) will help state public agencies better serve a population that for now continues to be categorized as “white” on census and other forms.
Leslie Berestein Rojas | February 26, 2024
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog Looking Ahead to 2024 on Our Collective Journey to Excellence
As we navigate the first quarter of the new year, I have been reflecting upon our collective journey to excellence. It’s a journey that features effective partnerships, continuous communication and working together to understand needs, leverage our strength and maximize productivity within recognized constraints. Like federal statistical agencies across the nation (and the world!), the U.S. Census Bureau is charged with producing quality statistics in the face of declining survey response rates, rising costs and increasing complexities of data collection.
Robert L. Santos | February 26, 2024
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Grandparents and Their Coresident Grandchildren: 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau today released the Grandparents and Their Coresident Grandchildren: 2021 report that provides characteristics of grandparents living with their grandchildren who are under the age of 18. The report also compares the characteristics of grandchildren by whether their parent or grandparent is the householder and the age of the grandparent. Data in the report come from the American Community Survey (ACS), Current Population Survey, Survey of Income and Program Participation, and 1970-2000 Censuses.
Public Information Office | February 26, 2024
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Household Pulse Survey Phase 4.0 Monthly Data Release
The U.S. Census Bureau today released new data from phase 4.0 of the experimental Household Pulse Survey (HPS). The HPS is an effort by the Census Bureau and other federal statistical agencies to measure how emergent issues are impacting U.S. households from a social and economic perspective. Topics for phase 4.0 include employment status, spending, food security, housing, health, mental health, natural disasters, inflation and spending, vaccine receipt, COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, shortage of critical products, disability, income, social connection and child care arrangements.
Julie Iriondo | February 22, 2024
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau Releases 2022 Community Resilience Estimates Equity Supplement
The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates Equity Supplement (CRE) and an update to the CRE for Equity interactive tool for U.S. areas most socially vulnerable to disasters and other stressors. The new supplement shows a connection between income inequality and higher social vulnerability to the impact of disasters. It includes new 2022 equity estimates with race-iterated variables that allow users to examine select topics related to social vulnerability by specific race and Hispanic origin groups.
Kristina Barrett | February 20, 2024
The Leadership Conference | Blog Reflections on Black History Month: Finding Ourselves in Data
In the years between the decennial census, many people only interact with census data through family history and ancestry research. Millions of people each year use websites like Ancestry, 23 & Me, and My Heritage to sift through the ever growing catalog of historical government data. These journeys through the data have resulted in family reunions and journeys of self discovery. You can also find a link to the blog on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Imani Bryant | February 23. 2023
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
February 20, 2024 Census Coalition Clips
National
AP News | News The Census Bureau is considering how to ask about gender identity. People have their opinions
The U.S. Census Bureau is thinking about how to ask about sex. People have opinions. Dozens of health officials, civil rights groups, individuals and businesses have weighed in about how the statistical agency should ask about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time on its most comprehensive survey of American life. The proposed questions geared toward people age 15 and older will be tested sometime this year. If given final approval, they would be the first to directly ask about these topics on the American Community Survey, which already asks about commuting times, internet access, family life, income, education levels, disabilities and military service, for example.
Mike Schneider | February 16, 2024
New York Times | News The Lost Story of New York’s Most Powerful Black Woman
Elizabeth Amelia Gloucester appeared in the census for the final time on June 8, 1880. The census enumerators who crisscrossed Brooklyn Heights were no doubt surprised to find a wealthy Black woman presiding over Remsen House, the grand boarding hotel not far from Brooklyn City Hall that served the white professional classes. Census workers were accustomed to listing women as the heads of households in which husbands had died. The decision to grant Ms. Gloucester this same designation — even though the Rev. James Gloucester was very much alive and present — reflected a rare recognition that she was the author of the family’s wealth and master of its financial destiny. This represented a victory for a woman who had come of age during a time when husbands subsumed their wives and their assets.
Brent Staples | February 16, 2024
LGBTQ Nation | News Finally, the Census Bureau will ask questions about LGBTQ+ people
After years of pushing by queer activists, the U.S. Census Bureau will finally try including questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for its American Community Survey (ACS) this year. Currently the ACS, the bureau’s largest survey, only includes questions about same-sex couples who are married or living together. As the Associated Press notes, that only accounts for an estimated one-sixth of the country’s LGBTQ+ population, leaving out transgender people and those who are single or who do not live with their partners.
John Russell | February 16, 2024
USA TODAY | News These states have the highest rates of long COVID, Census data shows
Four years after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers continue the search to uncover the causes of long COVID and develop treatments. Nearly one in four adults who contracted COVID-19 developed long COVID symptoms, according to the most recent data from the Census Bureau. Anyone infected with COVID-19 can develop long COVID, but the condition is more common in people who had severe COVID-19 symptoms, as well as women, older adults, people with underlying health conditions and people who did not get vaccinated, according to the Washington state Health Department.
Sara Chernikoff and Janet Loehrke | February 16, 2024
States
Georgia
Urbanize Atlanta | News Census: Georgia becomes rare state with 11M+ residents
The U.S. tallied its largest population growth in five years in 2023, and Georgia was among the leading states driving that boost, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. In fact, the Peach State exceeded a new population threshold for the first time in history, joining just a handful of U.S. states with 11 million or more people, according to Vintage 2023 population estimates released in December by Census officials. According to the analysis, Georgia added 116,077 residents across the year ending in July, for a total population of 11,029,227.
John Green | February 15, 2024
Texas
Texas A&M Today | News US Census Bureau Director Visits Campus
Texas A&M University welcomed U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos to campus this month for a daylong series of sessions with students, faculty and staff as part of his multi-day tour of Texas. Santos has served as director of the bureau — a key federal agency collecting up-to-date information on people and the economy — since January 2022. He was hosted on campus by the Texas Research Data Center (TXRDC), one of only 33 Federal Statistical RDCs in the nation.
Lesley Henton | February 15, 2024
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
February 12, 2024 Census Coalition Clips
National
HuffPost | News Census Bureau Says It Will Not Revise Its Disability Questions In Annual Survey
The U.S. Census Bureau announced on Tuesday that it will not adopt its proposed revisions on how it collects data on disability in the American Community Survey (ACS), citing concerns raised in public comments. Last year, the Census Bureau proposed switching the survey’s questions used to assess disability to instead adopt six questions developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics as a means of aligning with international standards. It also proposed an additional question on communication difficulties and a new definition of disability for the 2025 survey.
Shruti Rajkumar | February 7, 2024
NPR | News The Census Bureau is dropping a controversial proposal to change disability statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau is no longer moving forward with a controversial proposal that could have shrunk a key estimated rate of disability in the United States by about 40%, the bureau’s director said Tuesday in a blog post. The announcement comes just over two weeks after the bureau said the majority of the more than 12,000 public comments it received about proposed changes to its annual American Community Survey cited concerns over changing the survey’s disability questions.
Hansi Lo Wang | February 6, 2024
States
Minnesota
Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) | News Klobuchar, Fischbach Request Update on U.S. Census Bureau Case Involving the City of Marshall’s Undercount in 2020 Census
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representative Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) sent a letter to the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Robert Santos, to urge the Bureau to work with the City of Marshall to resolve the reported undercount in the 2020 Census results. The City opened a case with the Bureau due to an undercounted student population at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Census Bureau informed the City in December 2023 that it had resolved its case, but the City has still not received an updated census figure or any additional details.
Press Office | February 6, 2024
Texas
The Dallas Morning News | News Gen Zers are choosing Texas for their new home more than any other state
Texas is reeling in more Gen Z movers than any other state, according to an analysis by Seattle-based real estate firm Zillow Group Inc. Zillow pulled its data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. Texas netted over 76,000 Gen Z movers, beating out California and Florida, which placed second and third, respectively, with over 40,000 each. The net takes into account those moving into the state minus those moving out.
Irving Mejia-Hilario | February 12, 2024
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau Releases Nonemployer Business Data by Demographic Characteristics of Owners
Women owned 41.1% (11.2 million) and minorities owned 36.7% (10 million) of the nation’s nonemployer businesses (those without paid employees) and had $307.9 billion and $345.1 billion, respectively, in receipts in 2020, according to the new Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D) released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. There were a total of 27.2 million nonemployer businesses with $1.3 trillion in receipts in 2020.
Jewel Jordan | February 8, 2024
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog Next Steps on the American Community Survey Disability Questions
The Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) have carefully reviewed the public feedback. Based on that feedback, we plan to retain the current ACS disability questions for collection year 2025. Along with our colleagues at OMB, NCHS and other statistical agencies, we will continue our work with stakeholders and the public to better understand data needs on disability and assess which, if any, revisions are needed across the federal statistical system to better address those needs.
Robert L. Santos | February 6, 2024
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
February 5, 2024 Census Coalition Clips
National
Clinical Leader | News Incorporating SOGI Data In Clinical Research And Impacts On Enhancing Cancer Treatment Outcomes
The social and economic determinants of health, including discrimination, stigma, and inadequate healthcare access, play a role in the health disparities experienced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) community. According to data from the Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, which began collecting SOGI data in July 2021, LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to experience negative health outcomes than non-LGBTQ+ adults. Addressing these disparities, along with collecting and measuring SOGI information in clinical trials, is important for several reasons.
Alekhya Pochiraju | February 2, 2024
Statista | News Chart: The U.S. States Losing & Gaining Population
As pandemic patterns of U.S. population growth are normalizing, three economically successful states have remained among the U.S. jurisdictions which are shrinking. According to a December release by the Census Bureau, California, Illinois and New York – along with West Virginia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Oregon – lost population in 2023 compared to 2022. Throughout the new Census first released in 2020, all three states have shown continuously sinking population numbers. New York and Illinois even started to see their populations decline under the old Census since 2016 and 2014, respectively, while California experienced a stagnating number of inhabitants in 2019.
Katharina Buchholz | February 1, 2024
States
Alabama
Calhoun Journal | News U.S. Senators Introduce Equal Representation Act to Address Census
U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined forces with Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and 19 other colleagues to introduce the Equal Representation Act. The proposed legislation aims to address concerns related to the current census methodology, particularly the inclusion of illegal aliens in the count for Congressional District and Electoral College apportionment. The key focus of the bill is to ensure that only legal citizens are considered in the calculation of representation, thereby eliminating potential incentives for open borders. The sponsors of the Equal Representation Act argue that the current practice of counting illegal aliens can lead to a distortion of political power by favoring states and voters that attract mass illegal migration.
Lee Evancho | January 31, 2024
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog How the Real Estate Market Relies on Census Data
When people begin house hunting, they want to know how close the real estate they’re considering is to their jobs, schools, grocery stores, public transportation, hospitals and other services. Aware of this, real estate agents have incorporated demographic and economic Census Bureau statistics into their marketing strategies to give homebuyers all the information they’re seeking. Census data are free and available not just to real estate professionals but individual buyers and sellers. Anyone can access the demographic and economic statistics the Census Bureau collects and produces to paint a complete and up-to-date profile of neighborhoods with homes for sale. This article, which focuses on the real estate industry, is part of an occasional series that highlights how businesses and partners use Census Bureau data.
Earlene K.P. Dowell and Adam Grundy | February 1, 2024
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau Releases 2022 Community Resilience Estimates and New Winter Weather and Flooding Ranking Tables
The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) and new ranking tables of U.S. areas most socially vulnerable to winter weather and flooding. Community resilience is the capacity of individuals and households within a community to absorb the external stresses of a disaster. Using 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year microdata modeled with Population Estimates Program data, the CRE measures the social vulnerability of a community that inhibits community resilience.
Kristina Barrett | January 30, 2024
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau Releases Detailed DHC-B Proof of Concept for Feedback
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released the Detailed DHC-B Proof of Concept for the 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B (Detailed DHC-B) for public review and feedback. The Detailed DHC-B includes household type and tenure data for approximately 1,500 detailed racial and ethnic groups and American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages.
Public Information Office | January 29, 2024
