Census review shows miscount in 14 states; it won’t alter data

WASHINGTON » The 2020 census undercounted the population of six states and overcounted residents in eight others, the Census Bureau said Thursday, a finding that highlighted the difficulties of conducting the most star-crossed population count in living memory.

The conclusions come from a survey of 161,000 housing units conducted after the census was completed, a standard procedure following each once-in-a-decade head count of the U.S. population. The results showed that six states — Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas — most likely have a larger population than was officially counted.

Eight states probably have fewer residents than were recorded, the survey found: Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Utah. The count in the remaining 36 states and the District of Columbia was basically accurate, the bureau said.