The 2020 Census undercounted Black, Latino and Indigenous residents, while white and Asian populations were overcounted, the US Census Bureau said on Thursday in a report.
According to the Census Bureau, 18.8 million people were possibly omitted, or undercounted, in the all-important decennial. The agency said, "omissions are people who were not correctly counted in the census," or missed by enumerators but still may be been counted using estimates.
The census, which is mandated every 10 years under the US Constitution, is used to decide how many members of Congress each state gets in the House of Representatives and to calculate the disbursement of $1.5 trillion in federal aid to localities, among other areas.
By comparison, the Census Bureau estimated 16 million omissions in the 2010 census.
"Today's results show statistical evidence that the quality of the 2020 Census total population count is consistent with that of recent censuses. This is notable, given the unprecedented challenges of 2020," the bureau's director, Robert Santos, said in a statement.
He added, "But the results also include some limitations — the 2020 Census undercounted many of the same population groups we have historically undercounted, and it overcounted others."
Latinos were underrepresented from the 2020 Census at a rate of more than three times higher than the 2010 Census at 4.99% compared to 1.54%, respectively, according to the bureau.
Black people were omitted from the 2020 Census at a rate of 3.3% compared to a rate of 2.06% in 2010.
Indigenous residents were undercounted for the 2020 Census at a rate of 5.64% versus 4.88% in 2010.
Meanwhile, the non-Hispanic white population was overcounted by a rate of 1.64% compared to an overcount rate of 0.83% in 2010.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.