Assessing the 2020 Census Final Report (2023) / Chapter Skim
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10 Measurement of Race and Ethnicity
10 Measurement of Race and Ethnicity
Pages 261-290
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From page 261... ...
Quality attributes covered in this chapter include: • Effects of changes in the race question format, data capture, and coding conventions for 2020 on race reporting -- compared with 2010, these changes appeared to contribute to a substantial increase in the multiracial population and a decrease in the White Alone group; • Coverage errors in the census for major race and ethnic population groups (see Chapter 4 for more detail) ; • Rates of imputations for missing and inconsistent responses to the race and ethnicity questions; and • Effects of the use of differential privacy-based algorithms to protect the confidentiality of 2020 Census responses on the timeliness and accuracy of race and ethnicity data (see Chapter 11 for more detail)
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10.1.1 U.S. Office of Management and Budget Standards and Census Race and Ethnicity Questions The 1977 and 1997 OMB Standards In 1977, the Bureau of the Budget (now the U.S.
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15 1977 -- Separate Questions Preferred 1997 -- Separate Questions Preferred Race Categories: Race Categories: White White Black Black American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) AIAN Asian or Pacific Islander Asian Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI)
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Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiian Hawaiian Guamanian or Guamanian or Native Hawaiian Guamanian Chamorro Chamorro Chamorro Hawaiian Samoan Samoan Samoan Samoan Guamanian Other Asian or Pacific Other Pacific Islander Other Pacific Islander Other Pacific Islander Hawaiian Samoan Islander (print race) (print race)
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Spanish/Hispanic Spanish/Hispanic Hispanic/Latino or Spanish origin or Spanish origin Mexican, Mexican Mexican, Mexican Mexican, Mexican Mexican, Mexican Mexican, Mexican Mexican Am., or Chicano Am., or Chicano Am., or Chicano Am., or Chicano Am., or Chicano Puerto Rican Puerto Rican Puerto Rican Puerto Rican Puerto Rican Puerto Rican Cuban Cuban Cuban Cuban Cuban Cuban Other Other Spanish/ Other Hispanic, Other Hispanic, Other Spanish/Hispanic Hispanic/Latino Latino or Spanish Latino or Spanish Other Spanish Spanish/Hispanic (print one group) (print group)
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OMB never gave its approval, however, and the Census Bureau announced in December 2017 that it would continue with the two-question format without a MENA category.6 Format and Processing Changes to the 2020 Race and Ethnicity Questions The Census Bureau decided to make significant format and processing changes to the 2020 race and ethnicity questions. These changes included: • Adding space to write in origins under the White and Black checkboxes in addition to the other checkbox categories in the race question;7 • Expanding data capture of write-in responses from only 30 characters in 2010 to 200 characters in 2020; accompanying 13 U.S.C.
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• Expanding the coding of write-ins from only two detailed categories in 2010 to up to six detailed categories in 2020; • Expanding the list of codes for 2020 based on input from experts on specific race and ethnicity categories; • Combining the race and ethnicity code lists; and • Coding from left to right, instead of prioritizing Hispanic responses for the ethnicity question and race responses for the race question as was done in 2010. Looking specifically at the Hispanic-origin question, for 2020, the Census Bureau decided to code people as Hispanic if they responded "No, not Hispanic" but provided an Hispanic category (e.g., Mexican)
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For example, people who checked White and wrote in an American Indian tribe but did not check the American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) box were coded White and AIAN, while people who checked White and wrote in an Hispanic origin (e.g., Mexican)
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NOTES: AIAN, American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. SOURCES: 1970: Gibson and Jung (2002:Table 1)
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N.A. 6.3 6.0 32.7 NOTES: AIAN, American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; N.A., not available; -- , could not locate or not published.
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Percentage distribution by race Figure 10.2 Percentage Hispanic and percentage distribution by race for people over and under age 18, 2010 and 2020 Censuses. NOTES: AIAN, American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
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as SOR, thereby recategorizing Hispanic people who only checked White (and who would have been White Alone in 2010 and previous censuses) as Two or More Races (White and SOR)
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White Alone 72.4 61.6 72.0 62.7 Black Alone 12.6 12.4 12.8 12.1 AIAN Alone 0.9 1.1 0.9 1.0 Asian Alone 4.8 6.0 5.7 5.7 NHOPI Alone 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Some Other Race Alone 6.2 8.4 5.0 6.8 Two or More Races 2.9 10.2 3.4 11.5 Percent of Total (%) Hispanic 16.3 18.7 18.4 18.6 Non-Hispanic 83.7 81.3 81.6 81.4 NOTES: ACS, American Community Survey; AIAN, American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
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An examination of response modes by race and ethnicity illustrates that the propensity to write in responses varied by mode (see Figure 10.4) .13 Specifically, for every internet respondent who checked one or more major race category 12 For many "self" reporters of race and ethnicity, the actual respondent was a member of the household who filled out the census questionnaire for all household members.
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For every Hispanic internet respondent who checked one or more major category boxes with no write-ins, there were 11.8 write-ins by internet respondents who provided at least one write-in. These ratios were lower for other response modes, although Hispanic people in every instance provided a larger number of write-ins than the total population.14 Had Hispanic people responded via the internet at the same rate as the total population, then it is likely that the White Alone population would have declined even more and the Two or More Races population increased even more than what occurred in 2020.
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. Summarizing the findings: • Net overcounts were substantially higher in 2020 compared with 2010 for White people and Asian people, while net undercounts were substantially higher for people in the categories of Black, AIAN on reservations, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI)
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, the 2020 Census clearly experienced significant problems with the enumeration of Black people, AIAN people on reservations, and Hispanic people. There were also problems with the enumeration of NHOPI people.
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. Looking at enumerator returns, proxy NRFU enumerations had higher imputation rates than other types of enumerator returns in both 2010 and 2020, and markedly higher rates in 2020 compared with 2010.18 To fill in missing race and ethnicity, the Census Bureau used one of the following assignment methods when possible: accept a Hispanic origin provided in the race question (for people missing ethnicity)
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, and six races, for a total of 63 race categories (71 cells including subtotals) • Table P2: Hispanic origin and race for non-Hispanic people -- same detail as total population (73 cells)
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: Population counts and sex and age statistics for 300 detailed race and ethnic groups and 1,187 American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian tribes and villages; released September 21, 2023. • Detailed DHC-B (DDHC-B)
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The lack of a Modified Race File for 2020 has also affected the annual population estimates, mandated in Title 13. These estimates provide vital inputs to federal formula allocations for states and localities, provide controls for the ACS and other household surveys, serve as denominators for vital rates and per-capita time series and as indicators of recent demographic changes, among many other uses.22 The estimates typically derive from the most recent census, with race modified to allocate SOR Alone to specified races, updated with administrative records and survey data (birth and death records, Internal Revenue Service and Social Security data, Medicare records, ACS data, and other sources)
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100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 White Alone (%) 76.0 75.9 61.6 74.4 Black Alone 13.5 13.5 12.4 13.3 AIAN Alone 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.7 Asian Alone 6.3 6.1 6.0 6.3 NHOPI Alone <0.1 0.3 0.2 0.3 SOR Alone -- -- 8.4 -- Two or More Races 2.9 2.9 10.2 4.0 Hispanic 18.6 18.7 18.7 18.7 NOTES: AIAN, American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; SOR, Some Other Race.
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Small population sizes also make it difficult to square accuracy and confidentiality protection for American Indian reservations and Alaska Native villages, with median populations of 400–500 people in 2020.24 Yet incorporated places and AIAN jurisdictions are communities with governmental functions that have historically depended on accurate data from the decennial census. 23 Final 2010 Demonstration File Detailed Summary Metrics file at https://www2.census.
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SOURCE: Final 2010 Demonstration File Detailed Summary Metrics file at https: //www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/data-productplanning/2010-demonstration-data-products/01-Redistricting_File -- PL_94-171/2021-0608_ppmf_Production_Settings/2021-06-08-data-metrics-tables_production-settings.xlsx, using the June 8, 2021, production settings for the application of the TopDown differentially private algorithm to the 2020 Census Redistricting File. 10.6 RACE AND ETHNICITY MEASUREMENT IN 2020 -- CONCLUSIONS Conclusion 10.1: The 2020 Census depicted a more diverse nation than did the 2010 Census.
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• The 2020 Census exhibited larger coverage errors compared with 2010 for race and ethnic groups. There were increases in net overcounts for some groups, particularly non-Hispanic White Alone people and Asian people, and increases in net undercounts for other groups, particularly Black people, Hispanic people, and American Indians and Alaska Natives.
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Moreover, a combined question would likely show many fewer Hispanic people in the Two or More
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N.A. 0.2 NHOPI Alone 0.2 0.2 0.1 SOR Alone 6.2 8.4 0.3 Two or More Races 2.9 10.2 9.3 Hispanic 16.3 18.7 10.8 NOTES: AIAN, American Indian or Alaska Native; MENA, Middle Eastern or North African; NHOPI, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; SOR, Some Other Race.
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15 to adopt a combined, check-more-than one race/ethnicity classification with both Hispanic and Middle Eastern or North African as main categories, in addition to White, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. OMB should formalize any changes to the race and ethnicity reporting standards as soon as practicable, to permit the U.S.
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is adopted as the standard by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the Census Bureau should produce a crosswalk or bridge between the 2020 version and revised race and ethnicity questions and responses, as soon as the revisions are implemented in the American Community Survey and then in the 2030 Census.
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