Maxwell X Lab
Project Report
Understanding Census Non-Response
May 2024
Related:
Project Description
- Partners: The New York State Census Equity Fund (NYSCEF), New York Civic Engagement Table, New York Counts 2020, New York Law School Census and Redistricting Institute, CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research, and the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island
- Method: Focus group discussions and survey analysis
- Outcome: Our analysis suggests that sampled NYS residents reported not completing the census in 2020 due to a lack of knowledge of the census, privacy concerns, distrust in government, and apathy. Increasing people’s understanding of the census and how it can benefit them was the top suggestion for improving census response rates.
Project Report
Maxwell X Lab employed a multi-method approach to understand the scope of the problem of census non-response and identify possible solutions to low response rates across NYS. In the first phase of this project, we have focused on understanding and identifying the reasons why NYS residents did not self-respond to the 2020 Census. We also gathered data on factors that could increase self-response rates to the 2030 Census. While the Census Bureau has conducted analyses on the characteristics of Hard-To-Count populations and has identified reasons for non-response, our study concentrates on the lived experience of NYS residents. We focus on highlighting factors that influence census response in NYS specifically and collecting personal testimonies explaining why people did not respond in 2020, even those who were connected to trusted messengers.
In this report, we conducted three types of analysis, each building on the previous step:
- Spatial analysis using GIS technology and 2020 U.S. Census data to identify regions and communities in NYS that had low response rates. Based on these findings, we worked with our partners to identify census tracts that had low response rates in 2020 and also included community organizations that received funding from our partners in the past. We believed these established relationships were important to help organize and facilitate focus groups.
- Focus groups with people who lived in or near census tracts identified in the first step. The focus groups took place in Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca, and Poughkeepsie and allowed us to hear from NYS residents directly. The discussions focused on understanding individual’s exposure to, knowledge of, and participation in the 2020 Census. The discussions were an open forum to better understand individual’s reasons for their response or lack of response to the 2020 Census.
- Survey of a representative sample of 1000 NYS residents to understand if factors identified during the focus group as reasons for not responding to the census applied to a larger sample of respondents throughout the state. The survey data analysis allowed us to determine the factors associated with responding to the 2020 Census and provided insight into interventions to help improve response rates to the census in the future.