Formal report and recommendations based upon findings from 10 public hearings, roundtables, hundreds of comments and expert testimonies, in-depth analysis of previous census results, identification of hard-to-count populations over the past seven months

 

Commission recommends concrete measures to reach hard-to-count communities in 2020 Census

 

The New York State Complete Count Commission (Commission) today released its formal report and recommendations to policymakers to ensure a full count of all New Yorkers in the 2020 Census.

 

The comprehensive report identifies specific challenges to obtaining a full count, the significant steps taken by the state thus far to identify hard-to-count populations and 18 detailed recommendations for actions that local governments, state agencies, the federal government, non-profit partners, community groups, organized labor, business groups and more should immediately implement to ensure all New Yorkers are counted.

 

“The members of the NYS Complete Count Commission and its staff have worked hard to prepare a blueprint to achieve a complete and accurate count in New York State,” the report states. “Our community organizations, places of worship, educators, physicians, brothers and sisters in organized labor, the business community, local government officials, students, and ultimately all citizens are key to our success. ... Census Day—April 1, 2020—is fast approaching so it’s all-hands-on-deck to ensure a complete 2020 census count.”

 

The Commission found that the 2020 Census brings unprecedented challenges, including but not limited to: the census will be conducted primarily online for the first time; the Trump administration has attempted to weaponize the census with a citizenship question; and the federal government has not provided adequate resources to effectuate a full count.

 

To guide state policymakers, local governments, complete count committees, non-profits and other interested parties on where resources and funding should be allocated to ensure an accurate count, the Commission released a comprehensive regional analysis aimed at identifying specific hard-to-count populations/communities, specifying down to individual census tract. As part of its analysis, the Commission released a detailed online data tool to help communities focus their census counting efforts. A region-by-region summary of findings appears at the end of this press release.

 

The Commission recommends a three-part strategy for the state to ensure a complete count in 2020.

 

1. Use the tool developed by the Commission to focus on those hardest-to-count communities.
2. Take specific efforts to achieve a complete count including a robust marketing campaign, closing the digital divide, translation services, and building trust with foreign-born communities.
3. Utilizing funding and resources to maximize use of trusted voices in the communities, requiring every state agency develop a robust census response plan, and collaborating with the philanthropic community.

 

The Commission has determined the existing federal efforts are insufficient and many challenges exist to getting a full count. The challenges include:

• Lack of Language Access for Many Communities. While the Bureau is offering support in 59 languages for the 2020 Census, New York residents speak more than 200 languages.
• Shifting to an Online Count and the Digital Divide. The shift to a predominately online count risks depressing self-responses among households with poor or no internet access and senior citizens.
• An Inability to Hire an Adequate Number of Individuals for Critical Census Taking Jobs. The Census Bureau has been unable to meet its recruiting goals. In addition to the tight job market, the Census Bureau is barred from hiring non-citizens.
• The Continued Undercounting of Many Communities and Groups, Especially Children Under 5. Children under 5 are the most frequently undercounted demographic group – a trend that may worsen in 2020 without ample outreach to their families.
• Mistrust in Communities of Immigrants and Communities of Color, Especially in the Shadow of the Citizenship Question Controversy. Actions by the federal administration have only worsened existing mistrust of the census. The White House’s failed attempts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census have created much fear of the census.
• Data Protection and Fraud Concerns with a Digital Census. The shift to digital data collection and storage systems increases the perception of insecurity and may make some households less likely to provide their information.
• Missing Addresses Create Census Omissions. Addresses missing from the Census Bureau’s Master Address File will not receive information about participating in the count. An accurate address list is key to accurate census results.
• A Federal Government Asleep at the Wheel: The Census Bureau has faced the problem of declining survey response rates over the past several decades. Despite this, Congress and the Census Bureau have increasingly expected State and Local Complete Count Committees to conduct the work of Census outreach without any financial assistance.

 

To address these challenges and augment efforts to obtain a complete count, the Commission recommends the following to enumerate hard-to-count populations:

 

1. Direct enhanced support and assistance into hard-to-count communities. The state’s strategies should recognize and respond to regional challenges. Therefore, the Commission created a detailed tool to identify hard to count communities and their specific needs. Without enhanced focus and support, the share of households that self-respond could fall and the number of hard-to-count New Yorkers could rise. Hard-to-count populations must be made aware of the 2020 Census and persuaded to participate.

 

2. Establish “NYS Census Assistance Centers” in every hard-to-count community in the state. The Commission meticulously identified specific hard-to-count census tracts. These communities are spread across 29 of the state’s 62 counties. New York State must maximize the use of existing infrastructure and resources to reach all communities. The Department of Labor’s 96 Career Centers across the state should be leveraged as Census Assistance Centers with secure workstations where visitors can complete their online census questionnaires with staff capable of answering questions about the census. There is a SUNY campus within 30 miles of every New Yorker, and a public library within 5 miles of 99 percent of the hard-to-count communities.

 

3. Maximize the use of trusted voices in communities at risk of an undercount. The state should collaborate with private business and their associations, service organizations, healthcare organizations, organized labor, faith-based organizations and other key stakeholders to amplify Census messaging, especially in communities in which mistrust of government is high. The Commission recommends that these key stakeholders have specific outreach plans based on the needs of their populations.

 

4. Continue to build trust with foreign-born and immigrant communities to complete the Census. Local governments, community-based organizations, schools, faith-based groups, unions, and other organizations must be committed to persuading these households to complete their questionnaire and ensure that they feel safe doing so.

 

5. Youth-facing agencies and entities should promote the census to increase the count of children under 5. There are many reasons families leave their children off their census questionnaire – many of which boil down to misunderstanding the Bureau’s rules for who should be included on the questionnaire. Children who live with their grandparents, stepparents, other relatives, foster parents, or other non-relatives are much more likely to be erroneously omitted than those living with biological or adoptive parents.

 

6. Coordinate efforts with organizations that support New Yorkers living in group arrangements. The Commission recommends the state work with organizations like the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities, SUNY, CUNY, associations of nursing homes and hospitals, and other similar organizations to ensure that all Group Quarters in the state anticipate contact from the Census Bureau in early 2020.

 

7. Ensure a complete count of persons experiencing homelessness. Under federal and state law, all schools must designate a staff member as a McKinney-Vento liaison who is responsible for helping students in temporary housing and their families access resources available to them and ensure that their rights are protected. The Commission recommends that the state work with the school districts and the McKinney-Vento liaisons to ensure that this information will reach the families of homeless students so that they will be counted on Census Day. The State should also work with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and community partners to ensure that there is explicit communication about the census to homeless individuals.

 

The Commission also recommends the following overall enhancements to the state’s census outreach efforts:

 

8. Expand existing translation and printing services to assist in developing materials and messaging for the Census. The state’s existing contract with LanguageLine allows participating agencies to provide translation assistance in more than 200 languages, and employees are trained on using this service to effectively communicate with non-English speaking New Yorkers.

 

9. Develop a targeted marketing and communications strategy on the importance of the Census. This should focus on the importance of responding to the 2020 census questionnaire accurately, completely, and on-time. It should include digital, print, video, social media, and public service announcements in multiple languages and multimedia advertising and materials targeted to hard-to-count communities.

 

1. Employ existing infrastructure – including colleges, libraries and state agency offices – to increase internet access across the state. Governor Cuomo’s 2015 Broadband for All initiative invested $500 million – more than any other state – to leverage $1.4 billion from the private sector to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to high-speed internet. Nearly 90 percent of the funding has been awarded to projects that will address underserved areas of the state. The state should open and support existing computer facilities to the public for the Census, including public and private colleges, the Department of Labor and other outward-facing state agencies, and libraries across the state. For example:

• SUNY Empire State College will open dozens of computer labs across the entire state for members of the public to complete the census.
• There are 64 colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, 17 colleges in the City University of New York system, and more than 100 independent colleges in New York. The Commission recommends that state work with other campuses in the SUNY, CUNY, and private independent systems must follow SUNY Empire State’s lead in opening these facilities to the public.
• The New York State Department of Labor will open dozens of computer labs across the state for the Census as well. Other state agencies should be compelled to follow suit.
• More than 1,300 local libraries across the state should provide access as well.

 

1. The Census Bureau should provide New York with a waiver to allow non-citizens to be hired by the Bureau for 2020 Census jobs in the state. In 2010 the Census Bureau granted employment waivers to certain persons who were legally entitled to work in the Unites States, but who were not citizens when they possessed certain needed skill. Such a waiver has been requested but has not yet been granted.

 

2. Coordinate existing labor pools to support census hiring. New York State should mobilize its job placement services, particularly in the New York State Department of Labor, in the network of Workforce Investment Boards, and in the Social Service Districts in each county to encourage individuals to seek these employment opportunities. Other networks should also be activated in colleges, high schools (for students who will turn 18 in the first part of 2020), labor unions, retiree associations, human service agencies, service clubs and complete count committees. Additionally, the state should publicize that the U.S.D.A. has permitted the exclusion of earned income of temporary census employees from calculation of SNAP benefits, therefore increasing the pool of eligible workers.

 

3. Continue to be vigilant and defend the nation-leading work on the Local Update of Census Addresses. The work of New York State and local governments during the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) is one already-completed factor that will maximize the accuracy of the address file used in 2020. New York already corrected and/or found more than 300,000 addresses. New York State’s strong showing must be followed with state and local participation in the LUCA appeals and “New Construction” programs.

 

4. Implement a consumer protection program aimed at cyber-security protections and at alerting the public to fraud and scams. The Governor’s Cyber Security Advisory Board should continue to monitor the 2020 Census proceedings and work with the Commission to ensure that all New Yorkers’ data is safe from malicious hacking. In addition, the New York State Division of Consumer Protection should alert the public to any frauds or scams related to the 2020 Census.

 

5. Assist in the formation and operation of local complete count committees. These committees motivate their community to self-respond, educate the public about the importance of the census, inform their community of census activities and timelines, involve the community in awareness activities, and, ultimately, increase the response rate to the 2020 Census.

 

6. All executive state agencies should develop census outreach plans. New York State’s executive agencies are well-equipped to perform outreach to New Yorkers. For example: The Department of Motor Vehicles had 12 million visits in 2018 and interacted with 19.5 million New Yorkers through its website. The Department of Labor (DOL) reaches more than 9 million workers and 550,000 businesses, serves more than 500,000 New Yorkers at the Regional Career Centers and has 96 offices across the State. In 2017-18, SUNY had nearly 225,000 students enrolled in the state-operated campuses and an additional 200,000 students enrolled in the community colleges. In the fall of 2018, there were nearly 275,000 students enrolled in CUNY. The State must collaborate with these University systems to ensure that these nearly 700,000 students are counted. Additionally, universities play a large role in their communities as major employers as well as connections to community engagement.

 

7. Collaborate with philanthropic and local community organizations. Foundations have extensive, well-developed relationships in their communities with partners from government, nonprofit service providers, education, business, and donors. New York State should work with the philanthropy community to leverage its experience and relationships in order to maximize the impact of resources from all parties.

 

8. Strategically deploy resources to communities that have not received financial and other support. More than $60 million has been allocated for efforts to support the 2020 Census through a combination of New York State, New York City, and philanthropic support. The Commission recommends that any state financial resources, specifically the $20 million allocated in the current fiscal year’s state budget, be strategically used in communities most at-risk to undercounting based upon the Commission’s data analysis. Funds should be deployed to regions where local governments have not allocated any resources for the Census. In addition, the state should rank financing programs based on filling specific gaps. If the state can provide specific services – such as translation services or access to internet services in certain communities – it should not provide duplicative grants in order to avoid inefficiencies and maximize the effectiveness of the funding.

 

Households across the nation will receive their first notification about the census count in March 2020. The 2020 Census will be the first in history to be primarily conducted online. Although individuals will have the option to respond online, via phone, or by completing and returning a paper census questionnaire, most households will only receive information on how to go online and complete their census questionnaire.

 

While the 2020 Census count will occur between March and August of 2020, the 12-year 2020 Census lifecycle began with years of testing and planning, and then—when operations began in FY2015—has continued through address review and canvassing, partnership formation, and the actual enumeration. Census counts must be released to the President no later than December 31, 2020 and to the states for redistricting no later than March 31, 2021. Census data and reports on Census 2020 accuracy are scheduled for release to the public periodically through FY2023. Data from the 2020 Census will be relied upon for ten years.

 

To view the Commission’s full report and recommendations, and to learn more about the state’s efforts for the 2020 Census, visit the Complete Count Commission’s website.

 

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Regional Hard-to-Count Population Analysis

 

To guide state policymakers, local governments, complete count committees, non-profits and other interested parties on where resources and funding should be allocated to ensure an accurate count, the New York State Complete Count Commission performed a comprehensive regional analysis aimed at identifying specific hard-to-count populations/communities in each Regional Economic Development Council region. More precise detail beyond the below regional summaries are included in the Commission’s report and recommendations.

 

Experts from the CUNY Census mapping defined that if a census tract had a self-response rate of 73 percent or lower in 2010, it is considered hard-to-count. In New York, 1,900 of the roughly 4,900 Census tracts fall into this classification. These hard-to-count areas contain many populations that have been historically undercounted in past Censuses, including immigrants, renters, and families with children under 5. About 2.5 million immigrants live in hard-to-count tracts in the state, which encompasses 56 percent of the state’s immigrant population. These tracts also contain half of all renter households, which the Census Bureau believes is one the largest indicators for low self-response, and 45 percent of all single-parent households in the state.

 

With a new online component to self-response in the 2020 Census, internet access will be key to ensuring an accurate count of all New Yorkers. In hard-to-count tracts, 42 percent of households do not have internet subscriptions and will likely have to utilize public libraries and other public institutions to complete their Census questionnaires. Intimate knowledge of these Census tracts will allow for tailored messaging and resource allocations for uniquely at-risk areas.

 

The Rockefeller Institute of Government released a report in June that included an At-Risk Community Index detailing the unique challenges of the top 500 hardest-to-count Census tracts across the state using ten metrics:

• Black population
• Hispanic population
• Children under 5
• Foreign-born population
• Low-income households
• Single-parent households
• Limited English-speaking households
• Renter-occupied households
• Dial-up or no internet households
• Ages 65 or older

 

This analysis is intended to direct resources to support communities that need the most assistance in achieving a complete count.

 

Capital Region (Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties): The Capital Region has the second-highest percentage of renter-occupied households (34.1 percent) after New York City, totaling 146,879 households in the region. In past two Censuses, 2000 and 2010, renters were undercounted by about 1 percent. The Census Bureau views renters as one of the most at-risk groups for the 2020 Census. Approximately 194,600 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. Most hard-to-count Census tracts are in the cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy:

• In downtown Albany, the Arbor Hill and South End neighborhoods have the lowest self-response rates. In those areas, about half of the population is below the poverty line and about 75 percent of households are renter-occupied. About one-third of the households in these neighborhoods do not have appropriate internet access to complete the 2020 questionnaire online.
• High poverty and large renter populations in north Troy and downtown Schenectady have contributed to low response rates in past Censuses and are consider vulnerable populations for the upcoming Census.
• The areas surrounding Union College in Schenectady and Albany Law School in Albany are also hard-to-count. Renters occupy about 80 percent of households in those areas because of large, temporary student-renter populations. These renters are likely distinct from those in downtown areas who may reside in rental properties for many years at a time.

 

Some specific at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 7 in Albany County is in the West Hill neighborhood of the city of Albany and had a 59.8 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 209 in Schenectady County is in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood of the city of Schenectady and had a 58.8 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 404 in Rensselaer County is in the North Central neighborhood in the city of Troy and had a 61.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Central New York (Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties): Central New York has the second-highest percentage of single-parent households (11.5 percent) in the state, well above the statewide average (10.8 percent). There is a total of 35,401 single-parent households in Central New York. A historically undercounted group, single parents commit a high percentage of their time to raising children with minimal assistance, making it more difficult to fill out and return the Census questionnaire in a timely fashion. Approximately 139,680 people in the Central New York region may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. The hard-to-count Census tracts in the region cluster in the city of Syracuse:

• Two of the most difficult areas to count are University Hill, a neighborhood of Syracuse University and SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry students, and the Near Westside, a historically impoverished neighborhood in the downtown area. University Hill boasts 98 percent renter-occupied households, the result of a concentrated college-age population who are also hard-to-count because of their transient nature.
• Apart from those two neighborhoods, the city of Syracuse has over 20 hard-to-count Census tracts in its city limits.
• There is also a hard-to-count tract in the city of Auburn: tract 0421.00 in Cayuga County more precisely, that had a low self-response rate in 2010, seemingly because of a high renter population (71 percent) and a large population below the poverty level (37 percent).

 

Some specific at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 40 in Onondaga County is in the Near Westside neighborhood in the city of Syracuse and had a 61.7 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 5.01 in Onondaga County is in the Washington Square neighborhood of the city of Syracuse and had a 63.3 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 54 in Onondaga County is in the Brighton neighborhood in the city of Syracuse and had a 64.9 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Finger Lakes (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties): The Finger Lakes region has a high percentage of their population that is Black (12.1 percent) and also has a high percentage of households that are single-parent (10.7 percent). The Census Bureau released data showing that they undercounted the Black population by 2.1 percent in 2010 and 1.8 percent in 2000. If the same undercount happens in 2020, the Finger Lakes region could miss almost 3,100 people among the black population alone. Approximately 206,660 people in the Finger Lakes region may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. The hardest-to-count Census tracts in the region are in Rochester, Brockport, Geneseo, and Batavia:

• In Monroe County alone, 22 percent of the population, or 168,287 people, live in hard-to-count Census tracts. In Rochester, low self-response rates stem from high percentages of renter-occupied households, lack of internet access, and pockets of high racial/ethnic diversity.
• In the High Falls, Mayor’s Heights, and Marketview Heights neighborhoods, around 40 percent of households do not have appropriate internet access, meaning they have a dial-up connection or no internet access at all.
• Neighborhoods surrounding SUNY Geneseo in Livingston County and SUNY Brockport in western Monroe County also had very low self-response rates in the 2010 Census. High student-renter populations make these areas exceedingly hard-to-count, as renters were undercounted in each of the last two Censuses.

 

Some specific at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 15 in Monroe County is in the Marketview Heights neighborhood in the city of Rochester and had a 57.8 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 59 in Monroe County is in the Neighborhood of the Arts neighborhood in the city of Rochester and had a 61.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 9507 in Genesee County is on the south-side downtown area in the city of Batavia and had a 72.5 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties): Long Island has the second-largest immigrant population (18.6 percent) and the second-highest percentage of householders aged 65 or older (28.3 percent) in the state. Complete count committees in the Long Island area must grapple with a diverse population, having large pockets of historically undercounted groups and groups potentially undercounted in 2020.

Approximately 676,190 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. The Long Island region has the second largest immigrant population and the second highest percentage of householders aged 65 or older in the state.

• Of the immigrant population, roughly 33 percent have entered the country since 2000 signaling that many are relatively new to the country.
• Almost a quarter of Nassau County’s population, or 318,254 people live in hard-to-count neighborhoods.
• In Suffolk County, 490,496 people, 33 percent of the population, also live in hard-to-count neighborhoods.

 

Some specific at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 1224.06 in Suffolk County is in the hamlet of Wyandanch and had a 54.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 1233.02 in Suffolk County is in the hamlet of North Amityville and had a 59.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 4072.01 in Nassau County is in the village of Hempstead and had a 62.1 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Mid-Hudson (Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties): The Mid-Hudson region has the second-largest Hispanic population in the state (19 percent) and a large population aged 5 and under (5.8 percent). The Census Bureau undercounted the Hispanic population by 1.5 percent in 2010. As many as 6,600 Hispanic people in the Mid-Hudson region could be undercounted in 2020 if that trend continues. Approximately 560,910 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census.

• In the 2010 Census, children under 5 were undercounted by a staggering 4.6 percent displaying how essential this population is to an accurate count.
• Sullivan Community College and SUNY New Paltz’ campuses are situated within large student-renter populations, which contributed to an undercount of both neighborhoods in Sullivan County and Ulster County respectively. In the past two Censuses, renters have been undercounted by roughly 1 percent each time.

 

Some at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 11.01 in Westchester County is in the Nodine Hill neighborhood in the city of Yonkers and had a 44.9 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 30 in Westchester County is in the West Mount Vernon neighborhood in the city of Mount Vernon and had a 48.4 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 2211 in Dutchess County is in the downtown area of the city of Poughkeepsie and had a 50.4 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Mohawk Valley (Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie counties): Of all REDC regions, the Mohawk Valley represents the highest percentage of householders aged 65 or older (29 percent) and households with dial-up internet or no internet access entirely (22 percent), both metrics that will be essential for an accurate count in 2020 with the introduction of online Census questionnaires. Approximately 94,840 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census.

• The hardest-to-count tracts in the Mohawk Valley region cluster in the City of Utica.
• There are about 15 tracts in downtown Utica that are considered hard-to-count because of their low self-response rates in the 2010 Census. There is only one library in the downtown area should residents need a public space to fill out their online questionnaire in 2020.
• Areas surrounding SUNY Oneonta in Oswego County and Utica College in Oneida County were hard-to-count in the 2010 Census, likely because of high student-renter populations, populations that have been undercounted in each of the last two Censuses.

 

Some at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 211.01 in Oneida County is in the southwestern downtown area of the city of Utica and had a 55.2 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 208.03 in Oneida County is in the eastern downtown area of the city of Utica and had a 59.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 709 in Montgomery County is in the South Amsterdam neighborhood in the city of Amsterdam and had a 60.8 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

North Country (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties): The North Country has the second-largest percentage of population aged 5 and under in the state (5.9 percent) and a large percentage of households that are single-parent (10.9 percent). Children under 5 were undercounted by 4.6 percent in the 2010 Census, according to a February 2014 report from the Census Bureau. Over 1,100 children in the North Country (4.6 percent of their total) are at risk of being undercounted if the 2020 Census results are similar to those of 2010. Approximately 85,810 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. The hardest-to-count areas in the North Country are the St. Regis Mohawk reservation, SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Potsdam.

• University neighborhoods, especially, are known for a high population of renter-occupied households, in which residents are historically hard-to-count. For example, the Census tract that covers SUNY Potsdam, which had a 62 percent response rate, is 100 percent renter-occupied households.
• The St. Regis Mohawk Reservation had a 45.8 percent self-response rate in 2010, meaning 54 percent of residents in that tract were counted using Census enumerators, a far more-costly option.
• A large portion of the North Country region, including the entirety of Hamilton County, are not sent Census questionnaires because of historically low response rates. Instead, these areas are only counted using in-person enumeration where a Census worker will interview the householder to complete the questionnaire.

 

Some at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 1013 in Clinton County is in the downtown area of the city of Plattsburgh and had a 65.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 612 in Jefferson County is in the eastern downtown area of the city of Watertown and had a 68.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 621 in Jefferson County is in the central downtown area of the city of Watertown and had a 71.2 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

New York City (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond counties): New York City has the highest percentage of at-risk populations for eight of the ten metrics (percent population aged 5 and under,  percent population black, percent population Hispanic,  percent population in poverty,  percent population born outside the US,  percent households that are renter-occupied,  percent households with limited English speakers, and percent single-parent households). Approximately 2,478,550 people may be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census.

• The Rockefeller Institute’s At-Risk Community Index identified the 500 hardest-to-count Census tracts in the state. 86 percent of those 500 tracts were in New York City (Kings County: 243, Queens County: 124, Bronx County: 49, New York County: 6, & Richmond County: 6).
• All five boroughs in this region have a high percentage of their population living in hard-to-count Census tracts
  • In Kings County, 80 percent of the entire population live in hard-to-count Census tracts, totaling 2.1 million people.
  • In Queens County, 67 percent of the population live in hard-to-count Census tracts.
  • 57 percent of people in Bronx County live in hard-to-count Census tracts.
  • 19 percent of people in Richmond County live in hard-to-count Census tracts.
  • 17 percent of people in New York County live in hard-to-count Census tracts.

 

Some at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 362 in Kings County is in the Brighton Beach neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn and had a 43.8 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 108 in Queens County is in the south Richmond Hill neighborhood in the borough of Queens and had a 45.4 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 382 in Bronx County is in the Eastchester Heights neighborhood in the borough of Bronx and had a 53.0 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Southern Tier (Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties): The Southern Tier has a large percentage of population with incomes below the poverty level (16.2 percent, or 99,381 people), the third-highest rate in the state. Low-income populations are at risk to be undercounted in the 2020 Census. Approximately 114,260 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. The Southern Tier region has a large percentage of householders over the age of 65 and people below the poverty line. With 28 percent of householders older than 65 and 16 percent of the population below the poverty line, the Southern Tier ranks top-3 in the state in both categories signaling multiple factors that could contribute to an undercount.

• The hard-to-count areas of the Southern Tier are in the cities of Binghamton, Elmira, and Ithaca.
• In Binghamton, there are five Census tracts in the downtown area with high poverty and high renter populations, which are metrics historically associated with missed respondents. The Census tract encompassing Binghamton University also had a low self-response in 2010 because of its high student-renter population.
• In Ithaca, the hard-to-count Census tracts are those that cover Cornell University campus and the popular student neighborhood Collegetown, between campus and downtown. Similar to Binghamton, the high student population hinders the Census from achieving an accurate count because of the residents’ temporary nature.

 

Some at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 13 in Broome County is in the First Ward neighborhood in the city of Binghamton and had a 58.3 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 12 in Broome County is in the downtown area in the city of Binghamton and had a 67.4 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 2 in Tompkins County is in the eastern downtown area in the city of Ithaca and had a 62.4 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

Western New York (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties): Western New York has the second-highest percentage of households without appropriate internet access (21.6 percent) in the state, meaning these households have a dial-up connection or are without internet altogether. These 119,823 households in the Western New York region that lack internet will be impacted by the switch to a predominately online census. The Western New York region also struggles with some historically undercounted populations, including children under the age of 5. Ranked fourth in the nation, 78 percent of the children under 5 in the city of Buffalo live in hard-to-count Census tracts. Approximately 265,080 people may not be counted in the self-response phase of the 2020 Census. There are hard-to-count Census tracts in the cities and surrounding neighborhoods of Amherst, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Depew, Lockport, and North Tonawanda.

• One of the lowest self-response rates in 2010 was in the South Lake Village neighborhood north of Amherst, which is a student housing facility for the University at Buffalo where 0 percent of residents mailed back their Census questionnaire.
• In downtown Buffalo, there are roughly 30 Census tracts that are consider hard-to-count. There are ten in Niagara Falls that fall into the same designation. Many of these urban Census tracts are high poverty and high renter populations.
• The several Native American reservations in Western New York also pose a unique challenge. Both the Cattaraugus Reservation in Erie County and the Allegany Reservation in Cattaraugus County saw 30 percent of residents not respond to the self-response phase of the 2010 Census.

 

Some at-risk census tracts:

• Tract 27.02 in Erie County is in the Eastside neighborhood in the city of Buffalo and had a 57.7 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 52.02 in Erie County is in the Parkside neighborhood in the city of Buffalo and had a 58.1 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.
• Tract 202 in Niagara County is in the northern downtown area in the city of Niagara Falls, and had a 65.4 percent self-response rate in the 2010 Census.

 

New York State’s Hard-to-Count Population, by County

 

County	HTC Pop	County	HTC Pop	County	HTC Pop
Albany	60,503		Herkimer	10,883		Richmond	123,331
Allegany	8,404		Jefferson	25,034		Rockland	71,653
Bronx	411,022		Kings	852,334		St Lawrence	19,881
Broome	34,882		Lewis	4,417		Saratoga	35,215
Cattaraugus	13,832		Livingston	8,916		Schenectady	30,449
Cayuga	10,647		Madison	12,885		Schoharie	6,002
Chautauqua	21,494		Monroe	138,101		Schuyler	2,275
Chemung	14,155		Montgomery	10,485		Seneca	5,043
Chenango	8,652		Nassau	309,703		Steuben	15,807
Clinton	15,655		New York	369,716		Suffolk	361,387
Columbia	11,564		Niagara	38,931		Sullivan	23,027
Cortland	8,943		Oneida	45,227		Tioga	6,799
Delaware	8,639		Onondaga	85,435		Tompkins	20,559
Dutchess	69,024		Ontario	14,832		Ulster	40,185
Erie	180,265		Orange	100,454		Warren	11,375
Essex	8,244		Orleans	6,458		Washington	10,098
Franklin	10,461		Oswego	19,925		Wayne	14,050
Fulton	9,433		Otsego	11,711		Westchester	234,163
Genesee	8,972		Putnam	20,669		Wyoming	5,572
Greene	11,588		Queens	674,557		Yates	2,708
Hamilton	4,434		Rensselaer	31,251		TOTAL	4,762,316