Census Bureau

Long-Awaited Redistricting Data Is Expected In August After A Legal Fight Cools

2:22pm June 30, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

A federal court denied Alabama's request to force the Census Bureau to move up the release of new redistricting data and stop plans for a different way of keeping people's information confidential.

People holding umbrellas walk through New York City's Times Square in 2019. The U.S. Census Bureau plans to change how it protects the confidentiality of people's information in the detailed demographic data it produces through the 2020 count.

For The U.S. Census, Keeping Your Data Anonymous And Useful Is A Tricky Balance

5:00am May 19, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

The Census Bureau must protect people's privacy when it releases demographic data from the 2020 count. Plans to change how it does that have sparked controversy over how it may affect redistricting.

Minnesota's state demographer, Susan Brower (center), walks with Dean Goldberg, donning a blue cape and black mask as "Census Man," through the 2019 Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minn., to encourage residents to participate in the national head count.

How 26 People In The Census Count Helped Minnesota Beat New York For A House Seat

6:10pm May 01, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

Small census numbers can make a big difference. If Minnesota's 2020 count included 26 fewer residents, it might have lost a seat in Congress — a seat that New York fell short of winning by 89 people.

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Some states have gained or lost Electoral College votes because of changes in population numbers recorded by the 2020 census.

Here's How The 1st 2020 Census Results Changed Electoral College, House Seats

6:48pm April 26, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

Based on population shifts recorded by the 2020 census, Texas, Florida and North Carolina are among the states gaining representation, while California, New York and Pennsylvania are losing influence.

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U.S. Army soldiers board a bus in January 2020 at Fort Bragg, N.C., one of the military bases that will likely see population boosts in their 2020 census counts due to a change to how troops deployed abroad were counted.

Why Deployed Troop Counts Are A 'Wildcard' In 2020 Census Results

2:12pm April 23, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

About 97,000 troops who are stationed in the U.S. but were deployed abroad during the census could help shift congressional seats and Electoral College votes to states with military bases or ports.

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If passed, two new bills in Congress would extend the reporting deadlines for 2020 census results, which are now months overdue after the pandemic and interference by Trump administration officials upended last year's national count.

After A Disrupted Census, Congress Tries Again To Extend Deadlines For Results

4:14pm April 20, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

The 2020 census results are months overdue after COVID-19 upended the national count. Efforts to extend reporting deadlines stalled last year after Trump officials decided to cut short counting.

If confirmed by the Senate, Robert Santos, a Latinx statistician shown here in a 2019 photo, would be the Census Bureau's first permanent director of color.

Biden To Make Historic Census Director Pick With Latinx Statistician Rob Santos

5:41pm April 13, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

If confirmed by the Senate, Robert Santos, president of the American Statistical Association, would be the bureau's first permanent director of color overseeing the national count and major surveys.

Illustration of states morphing into the U.S. Capitol and White House.

COMIC: How Your State Wins Or Loses Political Power Through The Census

5:00am April 12, 2021

How much say your state has in Congress and the Electoral College is determined through a little-known, once-a-decade process based on the census.

Dr. Hassan Bencheqroun, an interventional pulmonary and critical care physician, has seen firsthand the impact of COVID-19 on Arab communities in the San Diego area.

Trying To Assess COVID's Impact On Arab-American Communities Is Complicated

7:00am April 11, 2021

by Hadia Bakkar

It's hard to track the rate of COVID-19 infections among Arab Americans, who are often counted as white on survey forms without a separate checkbox for Middle Eastern or North African origins.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has been confirmed as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau.

Biden's Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, Confirmed By Senate

6:08pm March 02, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

Gov. Gina Raimondo, the first woman to lead Rhode Island, is cutting short a second term as governor to oversee an eclectic portfolio of U.S. Commerce Department agencies, including the Census Bureau.