5 TAKEAWAYS:
➀Data from 2020 for congressional and legislative redistricting will get to the states late. Originally set to go to states in March 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau is now scheduled to send data to states Sept. 30; COVID-19 delays are partly to blame. The late deadline will give some states little time to redraw political boundaries for pivotal 2022 midterm elections. The numbers include counts of population by race, ethnicity, voting age, housing occupancy status and group quarters population, all at the census block level. (More detail here.)

➁ The U.S. Census Bureau does more than the 10-year population count required by the U.S. Constitution. The census numbers fuel the reapportionment process that leads to congressional and legislative redistricting. But the Census Bureau also conducts the ongoing Current Population Survey, the American Community Survey and more than 100 other surveys and programs.

➂ Census data also help illustrate the size and components of the U.S. economy. The Economic Census, conducted every five years, includes extensive statistics about businesses essential to understanding the economy. It collects data on Nearly 4 million businesses – large, medium and small.

➃ Two surveys give insights on how the country is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Small Business Pulse Survey details how small businesses have fared since early 2020. “Overall, how has this business been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic?” one question asks. More than 70% report a “large” or “moderate” negative effect. The Household Pulse Survey asks questions on education, employment, food security, health, stimulus spending, intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and other pandemic-related issues.

➄ Census data are open and accessible, allowing for quick comparisons among states, cities, counties, census tracts and years. Tyson Weister of the Census Bureau offered NPF fellows a tutorial on how to access census data from 2010 – a process that will be very similar to how people will access 2020 data – as well as data from other, non-decennial surveys. Among other tips, Weister showed how to compare over time (example: percent of people without health insurance in Harris County, Texas, in 2015 and 2019); how to compare several geographic areas; and how to display an analysis in a map.

This program was funded by Arnold Ventures. NPF is solely responsible for the content.

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