Evaluation of Population Coverage in Census 2000: Demographic Analysis

Gregory Robinson, U.S. Census Bureau
Arjun Adlakha, U.S. Census Bureau
Kirsten West, U.S. Census Bureau

Demographic analysis (DA) is a well-developed coverage measurement and evaluation program. DA has served as the standard for measuring coverage trends in recent censuses and differences in coverage by age, sex, and race (Black and Non-Black) at the national level. DA represents a macro-level approach, where population benchmarks are developed by analyzing and aggregating various types of demographic data. Some examples include administrative statistics on births, deaths, immigration, and Medicare enrollments, as well as estimates of emigration and undocumented immigration. The difference between the DA benchmark and the census count provides an estimate of the census net undercount. The demographic approach differs fundamentally from the survey-based Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.). In this paper, we discuss the results of the DA evaluation for Census 2000. We describe the DA estimates of coverage at the national level and compare patterns of coverage in 2000 to patterns measured in previous censuses.