2020 Census missed 18.8 million people, bureau estimates

The 2020 Census missed counting 18.8 million Americans in the biggest net undercount in three decades, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.

While the census generally overcounts Whites and undercounts minorities, the discrepancies were higher in 2020 than in 2010, according to the bureau’s post-enumeration survey, a re-survey of randomly selected geographic areas that the bureau conducts after each decennial census. Most significantly, the undercount for Hispanics more than tripled, from 1.54 to 4.99 percent, and the undercount for those who identify as “some other race” shot up from 1.63 to 4.34 percent. The undercounts for Blacks and American Indians/Alaska Natives were also higher than in 2010 but not at a statistically significant rate, the bureau said.

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