May 1, 2001
For Immediate Release
Contacts: John Chambers
301-713-6672
CENSUS 2000 UNDERCOUNT RATE ESTIMATES RELEASED
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Presidential Members of the U.S. Census Monitoring Board released Census 2000 undercount rates in metropolitan areas in ten large states.
The undercount rates were calculated by Census Monitoring Board consultant Dr. Eugene P. Ericksen, a decennial census expert and professor of statistics at Temple University. Dr. Ericksen Co-Chaired the Special Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Commerce during the 1990 census.
Dr. Ericksen issued the following statement:
"To provide some insight into within-state variations in undercount rates, we have calculated approximate estimates for certain large cities, large counties and the remainders of the states in which they are located. We do not have the exact distributions of post-strata populations by cities or counties, but have approximated them with 2000 Census state totals by racial group and 1990 census data sorted by racial group and tenure."
"Our local estimates are close, but not exactly equal, to the numbers that the Census Bureau would calculate. Our calculations make no claim to being ‘official Census Bureau numbers.’ The Census Bureau is currently reevaluating its estimates of the undercount, and they may revise the estimates at a future date."
Monitoring Board Co-Chair Gilbert F. Casellas noted:
"We released this data in the interest of transparency and scientific discussion and hope that its use will help lead to greater accuracy in the census."
Established in 1997, the Census Monitoring Board is a bipartisan board that monitors the Census Bureau’s conduct of the 2000 census. Its findings are reported every six months to Congress. For more information on the Board, visit http://www.cmbp.gov.
