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.
September 26, 2023 Census Coalition Clips
National
ABC News | News About 18 million US adults have had long COVID: CDC
Millions of Americans say they’ve had long COVID, and some say they’re still battling it, according to new federal data. Two new reports, published early Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, looked at data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. They found that, in 2022, 6.9% of adults — equivalent to about 18 million Americans — reported ever having long COVID while 3.4% — about 8.8 million — said they currently had the condition, according to 2022 U.S. Census estimates.
Mary Kekatos | September 26, 2023
NPR | News An annual survey from the Census Bureau aims for better data on the LGBTQ+ population
What is your current gender? And what best represents how you think of yourself? Gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual – or do you prefer a different term? Those are some of the kinds of survey questions the Census Bureau wants to test next year. It’s part of a long-running push for better statistics about LGBTQ+ people that could be used to fight against discrimination.
Ayesha Rascoe, Hansi Lo Wang | September 24, 2023
NPR | News These 2020 census results break down people’s race and ethnicity into details
The latest set of 2020 census results, released Thursday, offers a nuanced look at the racial and ethnic diversity of the United States.For the first time since 1960 — when the Census Bureau started allowing U.S. residents to self-report their identities — the agency asked people who marked the box for “White” and/or “Black” to also fill out a write-in area with their non-Hispanic origins, such as German, Haitian, Irish or Jamaican. Those prompts also encouraged more people of Middle Eastern or North African descent — who, for now, are officially categorized by the U.S. government as white — to share details about their backgrounds.
Connie Hanzhang Jin, Hansi Lo Wang | September 24, 2023
Center for Immigration Studies | News Just-Released Data: Foreign-Born Population Above 46 million in July 2022
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) released last week shows 46.2 million foreign-born residents — nearly 900,000 more than in 2021. However, the 2022 ACS survey only reflects the population through July 2022 and does not fully capture the ongoing border surge. Moreover, the bureau does try to incorporate illegal immigrants into the survey, but as we have discussed in prior analyses, in our view the bureau is almost certainly underestimating immigration, especially due to the ongoing border crisis.1 This includes the 2.6 million illegal immigrants released into the country since 2021 and the 1.5 million “got-aways” at the border — individuals observed entering but not stopped.2 Therefore, we think it likely that the foreign-born estimate in the ACS for July 2022 is too low. At the very least it is out of date.
Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler | September 22, 2023
AsAm News | News US Census Releases Detailed Data about AAPIs
The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday released detailed data on race and ethnicity from the 2020 census, showing a surge in the nation’s Asian Indian population and offering more precise data on Southeast Asian Americans. The new data provides information on 41 Asian groups, or 18 more than in 2010 — including Sikh and Iu-Mien — and reclassifies several Central Asian groups, such as Kazakhs, as Asian instead of White. Advocacy groups both commended the Census Bureau for its work and also urged it to go further in refining how Asians are counted, to ensure future censuses are more inclusive and better take into account how groups self-identify.
Stephanie Hoo | September 21, 2023
LGBTQ Nation | News Census Bureau hopes to test questions on LGBTQ+ identities in its largest annual survey
The U.S. Census Bureau wants to start asking about sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) on its American Community Survey (ACS), its largest survey. ACS is sent annually to approximately 3.5 million households across the nation to collect demographic information and provide a comprehensive, ongoing view of the American public. On Tuesday, the Census Bureau asked permission from the Biden administration to begin testing SOGI questions for respondents 15 and older. Right now, the survey only asks about same-sex couples who are married or living together.
Molly Sprayregen | September 21, 2023
AP News | News Census shows 3.5 million Middle Eastern residents in US, Venezuelans fastest growing Hispanic group
The United States had 3.5 million residents who identify as Middle Eastern or North African, Venezuelans were the fastest-growing Hispanic group last decade and Chinese and Asian Indians were the two largest Asian groups, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The most detailed race and ethnicity data to date from the 2020 census was released Thursday more than three years after the once-a-decade head count, which determines political power, the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal funding and holds up a mirror to how the U.S. has changed in a decade. Mike Schneider | September 21, 2023
CBS News | News Revisions planned for U.S. Census to reflect how Latinos, other communities of color see themselves
We’re learning how the federal Office of Management and Budget, which sets the race and ethnicity standards for the US Census, is proposing a change to how these are measured. The intent is to better capture how millions of Americans – including Latinos – identify themselves. The data that’s captured by the US Census informs so much of American life, ensuring that every community gets its fair share.
Anna Alejo | September 20, 2023
AP News | News Census Bureau wants to test asking about sexual orientation and gender identity on biggest survey
The U.S. Census Bureau asked the Biden administration Tuesday for permission to test questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for people age 15 and above on its most comprehensive annual survey of life in the country. The statistical agency wants to test the wording, response categories and placement of gender identity and sexual orientation questions on the questionnaires for the American Community Survey, which collects data from 3.5 million households each year. Federal agencies are interested in the data for civil rights and equal employment enforcement, the Census Bureau said in a Federal Register notice.
Mike Schneider | September 19, 2023
States
Michigan
Detroit Free Press | News Census: Arab Americans now a majority in Dearborn as Middle Eastern Michiganders top 300K
Arab Americans, for the first time, now make up a majority of the residents of Dearborn, and Michigan’s total Middle Eastern population has surpassed 300,000 residents, according to new census data. About 54.5% of the 109,976 residents of Dearborn are of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) ancestry, most of them Arab, according to 2020 census data. That’s a seven-point increase from 2019 census data that showed 47% of Dearborn has Arab ancestry. The spike reflects a more accurate representation of the size of Dearborn’s Middle Eastern communities because the 2020 decennial count was more thorough, advocates said.
Niraj Warikoo | September 26, 2023
Washington, DC
WUSA9 | News DC youth count helps young people experiencing homelessness
Getting young people experiencing homelessness a permanent place to stay is the goal of D.C.’s youth count. It’s an annual census used to determine if the city’s programs are working in helping combat homelessness. “Whether they are experiencing homelessness in shelter, they’re couch surfing, they’re staying on the street, they’re experiencing unsheltered homelessness we want to make sure we have an accurate count of young people in order to really create programming to meet their specific needs,” said Rachel Pierre, the interim director of D.C.’s Department of Human Services.
Randi Ayala | September 25, 2023
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog Data Quality and the Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A
Today the Census Bureau released new statistics about our nation’s communities, providing population counts and sex-by-age statistics for approximately 1,500 detailed race and ethnicity groups and American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages in the 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A). In this blog, we explain how well the published statistics fit within those targets, giving us confidence in the accuracy and usefulness of the data. We’ll also explain some situations where we suppressed data for groups, and we’ll provide guidance for calculating numbers (like percentages) that are not available in the published tables and for making comparisons.
Rachel Marks, Matthew Spence | September 21, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau Releases 2020 Census Data for Nearly 1,500 Detailed Race and Ethnicity Groups, Tribes and Villages
The U.S. Census Bureau today released 2020 Census population counts and sex-by-age statistics for 300 detailed race and ethnic groups, as well as 1,187 detailed American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribes and villages. These data come from the 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A). Previously, the Census Bureau released 2020 Census data on the Hispanic or Latino population and major race groups such as White, Black or African American, Asian, etc. Today’s release adds information on detailed groups within those major categories such as German, Lebanese, Jamaican, Chinese, Native Hawaiian and Mexican — and on AIAN tribes and villages like the Navajo Nation. The release includes information about more than 200 detailed race and ethnic groups not tabulated from previous censuses.
Stacy Gimbel Vidal | September 21, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog New Population Counts for Nearly 1,500 Race and Ethnicity Groups
More than 350 million detailed responses to the race and ethnicity questions were collected in the 2020 Census — six times more than in the 2010 Census due to improvements to the race and Hispanic or Latino origin (referred to as Hispanic origin) questions design, data processing and coding procedures. Some of the most noticeable improvements include the addition of White and Black or African American write-in areas on the questionnaire and the tabulation of detailed Some Other Race responses. These improvements allowed us to provide counts for groups that did not receive data from the race question in previous censuses. As a result, detailed data are now available for 104 White groups (Dutch, Lebanese, etc.), 62 Black or African American groups (Congolese, Grenadian, etc.) and 22 Some Other Race groups (Brazilian, Belizean, etc.).
Alli Coritz, Jessica E. Peña, Paul Jacobs, Brittany Rico, Joyce Key Hahn, and Ricardo Henrique Lowe, Jr. | September 21, 2023
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
September 18, 2023 Census Coalition Clips
National
CBS News | News Commuting crawling back, Census Bureau survey shows
If you think U.S. roads have gotten busier on your morning commute, you’re not alone. The rate of people working from home dropped from almost 18% in 2021 to 15.2% in 2022, according to new survey data on life in America released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey covers commuting times, internet access, family life, income, education levels, disabilities, military service, and employment, among other topics.
CBS News Staff | September 14, 2023
Brookings Institute | News Why so many Americans are unhappy about the economy
President Biden has successfully negotiated landmark economic legislation to invest in infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. What’s not to like? A report just released by the U.S. Census Bureau helps answer this question. Simply put, corrected for inflation, the earnings of most U.S. households declined significantly last year. For households in the middle of the economic distribution, the decline was 2.3%, from $76,330 in 2021 to $74,580 in 2022. In all, about seven in 10 households, representing about three-quarters of the electorate, experienced reduced incomes.
William A. Galston | September 14, 2023
AP News | News Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco areas gain people after correction of errors
Some of the most high-profile urban areas in the U.S. gained population on Tuesday. But it’s not because of a sudden flood of moving trucks into Atlanta, New Orleans and San Francisco. Rather, the U.S. Census Bureau corrected errors made in the population and housing counts of urban areas that were officially released in December, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.
Mike Schneider | September 12, 2023
Time | News What’s Behind the Spike in Child Poverty in the U.S.
The number of children living in poverty in the United States more than doubled in 2022, according to new figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Sept. 12, the biggest increase since it began using its current method to count them. In 2021, 5.2% of children were living in poverty. In 2022 that figure was 12.4%, or about 9 million children. This hike was part of a wider rise in poverty recorded by the Census, some of which can be attributed to inflation. But advocates for children say the leap was particularly stark for kids—and was avoidable.
Belinda Luscombe | September 12, 2023
The Washington Post | News U.S. poverty spiked in 2022, reversing gains, Census Bureau data shows
U.S. poverty spiked last year, with child poverty more than doubling, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday, while the proportion of people lacking health insurance in 2022 dropped to an uncommonly low level. The figures reflect the uneven pace at which the government has ceased some forms of coronavirus pandemic assistance as well as the calamitous effects of record inflation on household finances. Tuesday’s data offers the first statistical snapshot of how the winding down of such programs as well as rising prices have begun reshaping the country.
Kyle Swenson and Amy Goldstein | September 12, 2023
States
Minnesota
Sahan Journal | News Census data: Minnesotans of color grew in number, but continue to face disparities
Minnesota’s communities of color grew in population last year, but they continued to experience disparities in poverty and unemployment, according to new data released from the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday. Minnesota saw slight population growth last year in the state’s communities of color while the white population—about 4.4 million people—stayed stable between 2021 and 2022; communities of color made up about 1.3 million of the state’s residents last year.
Joey Peters, Hibah Ansari and Cynthia Tu | September 14, 2023
North Carolina
Carolina Coast Online | News Rural counties in the Carolinas working to expand amid population growth
Rural areas on both sides of the Carolinas are working to expand amid the growth. This comes after data from the U.S. Census Bureau highlighted consistent population declines for rural areas from 2010-2020, but new data from the North Carolina Rural Center shows a potential shift from the decade-long trend. Hybrid work and affordability are believed to be two leading factors for this trend.
Carolina Coast Staff | September 17, 2023
Washington, D.C.
The Washington Post | News Remote work thrived again in 2022, new data show, with D.C. a top hub
Even as many of America’s workers returned to the office, the share of those working from home last year remained well above what it was before the coronavirus pandemic, census data released Thursday show, reflecting a lasting change that is upending downtown districts, companies and commuting patterns. D.C. and the Washington metro area showed some of the highest rates in the nation. Just over a third of the District’s residents (33.8 percent) worked from home in 2022, down from 48.3 percent the year before, when the city topped the list, according to the American Community Survey, conducted annually by the Census Bureau. Only Seattle had a higher share of remote workers last year among cities, at 36 percent.
Tara Bahrampour | September 14, 2023
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog Uninsured Rates Decreased in Over Half of U.S. States in 2022
The share of people without health insurance coverage decreased in 27 states between 2021 and 2022, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. In 25 states where the uninsured rate decreased, at least one of the many types of public or private insurance changed significantly. Only Utah and North Dakota had decreases in the uninsured rate without significant changes in the types of coverage. Two new visualization tools depict health insurance coverage rates and types by state based on the 2022 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Users can compare estimates within and across geographic areas to see the types of coverage and percentage of people without insurance in their state.
Caitlin Carter | September 14, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog What You Should Know About the Upcoming Detailed DHC File A
The upcoming 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A) greatly expands what we know about the racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population. In total, we will release 2020 Census population counts for about 1,500 detailed race and ethnicity groups and AIAN tribes and villages. Depending on the size of the group, we’ll also provide sex-by-age statistics (the number of males and females within certain age categories). This is our most detailed racial and ethnic accounting of who we were as a nation in 2020.
Rachel Marks, Jessica E. Peña, and Alli Cortiz | September 13, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2022
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that real median household income in 2022 fell in comparison to 2021. The official poverty rate of 11.5% was not statistically different between 2021 and 2022. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate in 2022 was 12.4%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from 2021. This is the first increase in the overall SPM poverty rate since 2010. Meanwhile, 92.1% of the U.S. population had health insurance coverage for all or part of 2022 (compared to 91.7% in 2021). An estimated 25.9 million or 7.9% of people did not have health insurance at any point during 2022, according to the 2023 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). That compares to 27.2 million or 8.3% of people who did not have health insurance at any point during 2021.
Patricia Ramos | September 12, 2023
Of Interest
Code Switch | Podcast Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville
For centuries, the idea of the “American Dream” has been a powerful narrative for many immigrant communities. But for just as long, many African Americans have known that the American Dream was never meant to include them. So what happens when those beliefs collide? Today ten percent of the Black population in the U.S. are immigrants, and many grapple with this question. In this episode, we’ll hear from Claude Gatebuke, who moved from Kigali to Nashville as a teenager in the wake of the Rwandan genocide. He talks about how the move to the U.S. likely saved his life, while simultaneously challenging his belief that he could have a full, meaningful future as a Black man.
Leah Donnella, Veralyn Williams, Courtney Stein, Jess Kung, Gene Demby | September 13, 2023
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
September 11, 2023 Census Coalition Clips
National
AP News | News Tribal nations face less accurate, more limited 2020 census data because of privacy methods
During the 2020 census, Native American leaders across the U.S. invested time and resources to make sure their members were tallied during the head count, which determines political power and federal funding. But the detailed data sets from the 2020 census they will receive this month are more limited and less accurate than they were in the previous census — and it isn’t because the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited outreach efforts. Rather, it’s due to new privacy methods implemented by the U.S. Census Bureau in order to protect the confidentiality of participants, one of which introduces intentional errors, or “noise,” to the data.
Mike Schneider And Morgan Lee | September 9, 2023
Center for Public Integrity | News ‘If you don’t count us, we don’t count’: the effort to queer the census
With billions of dollars in federal funding on the line, a representative of the National LGBTQ Task Force discusses why it’s important for the census to accurately count queer Americans. During the 2010 census, some responses were submitted to the government with bright pink stickers on the envelopes. The labels carried a request for the Census Bureau: include LGBTQ+ identities in the questionnaire. This grassroots effort was carried out by the National LGBTQ Task Force, a nonprofit that organizes and promotes queer activism. Its Queer the Census program, which advocates for more inclusive questions and better representation within the Census Bureau itself, is a product of over 30 years of work.
Ileana Garnand | September 8, 2023
States
South Dakota
Dakota News Now | News Hispanic population gains in rural counties spark South Dakota growth
South Dakota’s Hispanic population more than doubled over the past 12 years and now helps keep many small towns vibrant, a trend seen in other rural areas of the U.S., according to census data and experts. There were an estimated 44,581 Latino individuals living in South Dakota as of 2022, or nearly 5% of the state population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While Hispanic immigrants traditionally clustered in urban gateway cities, there has been a push to the rural Midwest as companies build food processing and manufacturing plants in smaller agricultural communities with lower operating costs.
Stu Whitney | September 11, 2023
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog Difference Between the Supplemental and Official Poverty Measures
On Sept. 12, 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau will release a new report comparing estimates of median income and earnings between 2021 and 2022 and historical income and earnings dating back to 1967. The report, Income in the United States: 2022, is based on information collected in the 2023 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements (CPS ASEC) conducted by the Census Bureau. To account for changes in the cost of living, the Census Bureau adjusts all prior year income and earnings estimates for inflation. There are numerous price indexes available to the Census Bureau to use for this adjustment
Matthew Unrath | September 6, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Blog Exploring the Racial and Ethnic Diversity of Various Age Groups
The 2020 Census showed that the population under age 18 was more racially and ethnically diverse than the population 18 and over. But how racially and ethnically diverse were other age groups? The Exploring Age Groups in the 2020 Census interactive data visualization and supplemental tables allow us to answer that question by examining racial and ethnic diversity metrics for several age groups. The interactive visualization contains data from the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC). The DHC includes information on sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, families, households, housing and homeownership.
Megan Rabe and Eric Jensen | September 6, 2023
As always, you can find earlier clips here.
September 5, 2023 Census Coalition Clips
National
The New York Times | News Occupational Segregation Drives Persistent Inequality, Study Says
In the past two decades, the number of Black workers with a four-year college degree or higher has more than doubled, to 4.8 million. But the income gains are far less than would be expected in a race-neutral labor market, a team of academic and nonprofit researchers found. A key reason, they conclude, is the persistence of occupational segregation. Black workers with a college degree are more likely than their white peers to be employed in middle-wage jobs, like as social workers, tax examiners and education administrators. The new report, published on Monday as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, is based on an analysis of U.S. census data and government surveys of households and businesses from 1980 to 2019.
Steve Lohr | September 4, 2023
Spectrum News | News ‘We are still here’: Native American communities unite to amplify voice
Los Angeles has the largest Native American population across the country. After efforts to increase Census participation, 4.5 million more Native Americans filled out their Census in 2020 than in the previous count. The California Native Vote Project is bringing Native communities together to increase civic engagement. The organization is also partnering with other groups to advocate for representation of all people of color.
Vania Patino | August 31, 2023
The Hill | News Prisons shouldn’t be called homes, especially in the Census
Montana is among the growing list of places that recognize the Census Bureau gets it wrong when it counts incarcerated people in prison cells rather than their home communities. When states use this flawed data to draw new legislative districts during redistricting, it paints a distorted picture of the state, with communities that contain prisons boasting artificially inflated populations and getting more political clout as a result — a problem known as prison gerrymandering.
Shane Morigeau And Jason Small | August 29, 2023
States
New York
TimeOut.com | News Here are the most commonly spoken languages in every NYC neighborhood
It’s a well-known cliche that New York City is a melting pot, but we do have the linguistical bonafides to back it up: according to the Department of City Planning, New Yorkers speak over 200 different languages. “Nearly one-half of all New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home, and almost 25%, or 1.8 million persons, are not English Proficient,” the city says. A new study from Word Finder X analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data in order to find the most spoken language in each NYC neighborhood. Unsurprisingly, English and Spanish are the most commonly spoken languages in households across the city, but which tongues take top marks if you take both of those languages out of the equation?
Christina Izzo | September 1, 2023
Blog Posts and Reports
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau Announces New 2022 Annual Integrated Economic Survey
The U.S. Census Bureau this week announced the launch of the 2022 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), a limited-scope collection of the 2023 AIES that will launch in March 2024. The AIES provides key yearly measures of economic activity, including the only comprehensive national and subnational data on business revenues, employment, expenses and assets on an annual basis. Approximately 8,300 companies will be asked to complete the 2022 AIES. Responses to the 2022 AIES will be used to examine patterns of response to determine what additional support will be needed for future data collections.
Jewel Jordan | September 5, 2023
Federal Register | Federal Register Notice Census Scientific Advisory Committee
The Census Bureau is giving notice of a meeting of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC or Committee). The Committee will address policy, research, and technical issues relating to a full range of Census Bureau programs and activities, including decennial, economic, field operations, information technology, and statistics. Last minute changes to the schedule are possible, which could prevent giving advance public notice of schedule adjustments.
Census Bureau | September 1, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Demographic and Housing Characteristics Data Available for 118th Congress
The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2020 Census 118th Congressional District Summary File. The tables in the file include data previously released as part of the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC) that have been updated for the current (118th) congressional districts and 2022 state legislative districts (in effect for the November 2022 elections).
Jewel Jordan | August 31, 2023
Institute for Family Studies | Blog Multigenerational Living: Is It a Solution For Our Aging Population?
The U.S. Census Bureau notes that in 2020 about 16.8% of the population (1 in 6 people) in the United States were aged 65 or over. That’s up from 13% in 2010. In 2034, older Americans (65 years or older) will for the first time outnumber children under the age of 18. Americans are having fewer kids, living longer, and living alone. Older people who live alone are more likely to suffer from loneliness and depression and have higher mortality rates. How might we better support older members of the community who are living alone but may not want to? One potential solution is to promote multigenerational living arrangements, where younger adults (ideally family or friends) live with people from older generations.
Xavier Symons | August 30, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau | Press Release Census Bureau to Announce National 2022 Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage Statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled to hold an online news conference to announce the findings of three reports estimating income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States on September 12, 2023 at 10 a.m. EDT. The reports — Income in the United States: 2022, Poverty in the United States: 2022, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2022 — provide national statistics from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC).
Veronica Vaquer | August 29, 2023
