Working with (and around) 2020Census data

Originally posted on Issue №1 — April 2022

The 2020 decennial census was released earlier this month. And after political interference, data collection during a pandemic, modified methodologies, and delays in publication, the data came with many questions. And rightfully so. (Trust us, we’ve received all your emails and read every Census Bureau press release.)

But the lags and imperfections of census data aren’t new, and it’s still the best we have available to understand communities in a standardized at-scale way. In fact, it’s a critical component of our civic infrastructure, informing decisions from neighborhood to national scales. Plus, we do have some assurances from Bureau Director Robert Santos that the 2020 count is “robust” and “fit for many uses and decision-making.”

With all this in mind, here’s how we’ve been working around the limitations of the 2020 Census:

1. Use ACS data for neighborhood-level insights. The 2016–20 American Community Survey rolls five years of data together to increase reliability, especially in smaller areas. (2020’s one-year ACS data is considered “experimental” and we don’t recommend it. We’ll post a more detailed overview on the 33°n blog soon.)
2. Diversify your board and staff to counter the Census’s undercount of certain groups (young, Hispanic, and Black individuals). You’ll gain mis- and under-represented perspectives, lived experience, and expertise that will ultimately strengthen your work.
3. Capture qualitative insights from social sector leaders and community members. Hearing about shifts in communities from leaders and residents can tell you a lot about emerging community needs before public data catches up.
4. Diversify your data sources so you aren’t overly dependent on one source. Public data from GaDOE, GOSA, and DECAL provide Georgia-specific insights that can often be disaggregated. That may sound like more to wrangle, but we already centralize a lot of this all in one place. Publications of surveys and trends from organizations like GEEARS and Learn4Life add timely, relevant insights.