Skip to main content
  • Book
  • Open Access
  • © 2019

Differential Undercounts in the U.S. Census

Who is Missed?

  • This open access book provides an overview of which groups have the highest net undercounts and which groups have the higher undercount differentials in the US census
  • Discusses why census undercounts occur
  • Combines all the statistical evidence on this topic in one publication

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Population Studies (BRIEFSPOPULAT)

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Who Is Missing? Undercounts and Omissions in the U.S. Census

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 1-12Open Access
  3. The Importance of Census Accuracy: Uses of Census Data

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 13-24Open Access
  4. Methodology Used to Measure Census Coverage

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 25-38Open Access
  5. The Big Picture; Fundamentals of Differential Undercounts

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 39-49Open Access
  6. Census Coverage Differentials by Age

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 51-62Open Access
  7. Census Coverage Differentials by Sex

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 63-70Open Access
  8. Census Coverage of the Hispanic Population

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 71-82Open Access
  9. Census Coverage of the Black Population

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 83-91Open Access
  10. Census Coverage of the Asian Population

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 93-100Open Access
  11. Census Coverage of American Indians and Alaskan Natives

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 101-108Open Access
  12. Undercount Differentials by Tenure

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 117-122Open Access
  13. Census Bureau Efforts to Eliminate Differential Undercounts

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 139-148Open Access
  14. Getting Ready for the 2020 Census

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 149-161Open Access
  15. Summary

    • William P. O’Hare
    Pages 163-167Open Access

About this book

This open access book describes the differences in US census coverage, also referred to as “differential undercount”, by showing which groups have the highest net undercounts and which groups have the greatest undercount differentials, and discusses why such undercounts occur. In addition to focusing on measuring census coverage for several demographic characteristics, including age, gender, race, Hispanic origin status, and tenure, it also considers several of the main hard-to-count populations, such as immigrants, the homeless, the LBGT community, children in foster care, and the disabled. However, given the dearth of accurate undercount data for these groups, they are covered less comprehensively than those demographic groups for which there is reliable undercount data from the Census Bureau. This book is of interest to demographers, statisticians, survey methodologists, and all those interested in census coverage.



Authors and Affiliations

  • O’Hare Data and Demographic Services, LLC, Cape Charles, USA

    William P. O’Hare

About the author

Dr. O’Hare is a social demographer who has spent forty years using data to increase public understanding disadvantaged groups. For the past 25 years, he has been involved in the KIDS COUNT project at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. He has been an expert witness in more than a dozen lawsuits and has testified before Congress several times. Most of his professional writing has been for public rather than scholarly audiences, and he has been quoted in numerous newspapers, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, USA TODAY and many other newspapers. He has a Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Differential Undercounts in the U.S. Census

  • Book Subtitle: Who is Missed?

  • Authors: William P. O’Hare

  • Series Title: SpringerBriefs in Population Studies

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10973-8

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-10972-1Published: 22 February 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-10973-8Published: 13 February 2019

  • Series ISSN: 2211-3215

  • Series E-ISSN: 2211-3223

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 167

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 13 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Demography, Statistical Theory and Methods, Methodology of the Social Sciences

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access