In this report:
- Acknowledgements
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Part I - Demographic Trends in Katrina-Affected Areas and Their Impact on the 2010 Census
- Part II - Census Procedures and Operational Challenges to Getting an Accurate Count in the Aftermath of a Catastrophe
- Part III - Operational and Policy Recommendations for a More Accurate 2010 Census in the Gulf Coast
- Appendix A
Demographics and Hard-to-Count Areas
Based on in-depth analysis of information from the census in 1990 and 2000, the Census Bureau has identified a dozen variables that correlate with a lower rate of returned census questionnaires, and has used that information to designate HTC areas. Some of these variables are housing-related, such as vacancy rates, percentage of renters, and number of people living in a household. Some are related to economic factors, including unemployment, poverty, and public assistance. Others include education levels and the number of households with limited English proficiency.
Data from the 2000 census make it clear that the Gulf Coast region presented significant challenges to an accurate count even before the 2005 catastrophe. In 2000, for example, Louisiana had the 10th highest percentage of its population living in areas designated "hard to count." Nearly 50 percent of the people in Orleans Parish (the city of New Orleans) lived in HTC areas. Among all U.S. counties, it had the 38th highest absolute number of people living in HTC areas, more than 239,000 people.20
Similarly, Mississippi already had many HTC areas, with six counties in the top 50 nationally in terms of the percentage of population living in HTC areas (In five of them, 100 percent of the population lived in a HTC area). Only one of these six counties (Wilkinson) is a coastal county, but the analysis suggests that the Census Bureau already faced significant challenges to achieving an accurate account in Mississippi even before the hurricanes. Overall, nearly 19 percent of Mississippi's population and about 11 percent of Alabama's population lived in HTC areas in 2000.21
There is clear evidence that storm-related changes will further complicate the 2010 Census in a variety of ways.
Next Section: Housing
20. O'Hare, William and Edwin Quiamboa, Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Tract-Level Planning Database With Census 2000 Data, based on "hard to count" scores of 60 or higher, Annie E. Casey Foundation, April 2009.
21. Id.
