6.1 Introduction
This Chapter focuses on Census coverage for males and females including coverage rates for subgroups defined by age, race, Hispanic Origin, and tenure. In addition to looking at the net undercounts and overcounts of males and females, omissions rates by sex are also examined.
The initial analysis shown in this Chapter relies heavily on Demographic Analysis (DA) estimates. I believe the strengths of DA methodology make it a particularly good technique for discussing Census coverage by age for at least four reasons. First, DA data on age are more detailed than that from Dual-Systems Estimates (DSE). Data are available by single year of age from DA but only for large age/sex groups from DSE. Second, DA estimates have been produced since 1940, so there is more historical data. Third, in the decade prior to the 2010 Census, staff at the Census Bureau investigated several issues related to the production of DA estimates (Robinson 2010; Bhaskar et al. 2010; Devine et al. 2010). The increased input, review, and examination enhance the reliability of the 2010 DA estimates. Fourth, DSE estimates greatly underestimate the net undercount for young children (O’Hare et al. 2016) so that data series cannot be used to examine differential undercounts for the whole age spectrum.
Both methods for measuring Census accuracy (DA and DSE) show males had lower coverage rates than females. In the 2010 Census, the DA method shows a net undercount rate of 0.8% for males compared to a 1.1% net overcount for females. In the 2010 Census, the DSE method also shows adult males typically had net undercounts while adult females typically had net overcounts. This result is not surprising. Simpson and Middleton (1997) identify adult males as being among the groups most difficult to enumerate in Censuses.
6.2 Undercounts by Sex and Age
2010 census net undecount rates for males and females by five-year age groups.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, May 2012 DA Relesae
2010 census net undercount rates from census coverage measurement by age and sex
Age | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
18–29 | −1.2 | 0.3 |
30–49 | −3.6 | 0.4 |
50 + | 0.3 | 2.4 |
To some extent these figures may reflect the position of males and females in broader society. For example, it is more acceptable for males and females in their 20s to remain living in their parents’ home, so they are apt to have a stable housing situation at that stage in their lives. As they move into their 30s and 40s, it becomes less acceptable to remain living in their parents’ home (particularly for males) so their housing situations are more likely to be unstable. Also, many females in their 20s, 30s and 40s, are likely to be responsible for taking care of children on a daily basis which makes stable housing more important. A stable housing situation is associated with a higher likelihood of being counted in the Census (Martin 2007).
6.3 Undercount by Sex and Race
The overall Census coverage figures for males and females mask big differences by race. These differences are first examined using DA data then using data from DSE. Recall that in DA, the only race group that can be identified for all ages is Black and the residual category is called Non-Black.
Census coverage for males and females by race in the 2010 census
Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
Total | −0.8 | 1.1 |
Black Alone | −4.6 | −0.1 |
Non-Black Alone | −0.3 | 1.1 |
In the Black Alone population, the biggest difference in coverage rates between males and females is for the population in their 30s and 40s. The biggest single year difference is age 29 where there is an 8.6% net undercount for males and a 0.7% overcount for females (data not shown here).
2010 Census net undercount rates by sex, race, and age
Age 18–29 | Age 30–49 | Age 50+ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Alone | Males | 1.5 | −2.1 | 0.6 |
Females | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.2 | |
Black Alone or in Combination | Males | −5.9 | −10.0 | −2.8 |
Females | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.1 | |
American Indian/Alaskan Native Alone or in Combination | Males | −1.9 | 3.1 | 1.5 |
Females | −2.6 | 0.4 | 4.6 | |
Asian Alone or in Combination | Males | −1.2 | −2.2 | 1.1 |
Females | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.0 | |
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Alone or in Combination | Males | −8.0 | 2.0 | −0.4 |
Females | 1.9 | −1.2 | −1.4 | |
Hispanic | Males | −5.2 | −5.1 | 0.7 |
Females | −2.1 | −0.2 | 3.6 | |
Table 6.3 also highlights the difference sex makes in the 18–49-year-old category compared to age 50 and over. For the population age 50 and over most groups experience a net overcount and for those groups that did experience a net undercount it is lower than that for age 18–49.
6.4 Net Undercount and Omissions Rates for Males and Females by Age and Tenure
2010 Census net undercount rates for males and females by age, sex, and tenure
Population living in owner-occupied housing units | Population living in renter- occupied housing units | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Males | Females | Males | Females | |
Age 18–29 | 1.7 | 1.6 | −3.9 | −0.9 |
Age 30–49 | −2.6 | 0.5 | −5.5 | 0.2 |
Age 50+ | 0.2 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 3.5 |
2010 census omission rates for male and females by age, sex, and tenure
Omissions rates | Population living in owner-occupied housing units | Population living in renter- occupied housing units | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Males | Females | Males | Females | |
Age 18–29 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 12.5 | 9.2 |
Age 30–49 | 6.4 | 2.9 | 12.3 | 6.3 |
Age 50+ | 3.6 | 1.7 | 6.9 | 3.2 |
6.5 Differential Census Coverage by Sex Over Time
Census net undecount rates for males and females: 1940–2010.
Source 2010 Data from May 2012 DA Release. 1940–2000 from U.S. Census Bureau (2001), Table 4
First, the coverage of females has been better than the coverage of males in every Census since 1940. Second, the coverage of both males and females has improved consistently since the 1940 Census. Both males and females experienced high net undercounts in the 1940 Census (5% or more), but in the 2010 Census there was 1.1% overcount for females compared to a 0.8% undercount for males.
Third, the difference in Census coverage between males and females has widened somewhat since 1940. In 1940, the difference between the coverage rate of males and females was less than one percentage point but in 2010 the difference was nearly two percentage points.
6.6 Sex and Sexual Orientation
I would be remiss if I did not say a word about sexual identity and sexual orientation in the context of the Census. The “sex” question was introduced in the first Census in 1790 and has been used ever since without generating much controversy. Yet as social norms about gender identity and sexual orientation have changed in recent decades, advocates began to press the Census Bureau for expanded questions and response options on sexual orientation and gender identity. The U.S. General Accountability Office (2018, p. 5) identified “Lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer/questioning persons” as being hard-to-count.
In 1990, advocates ran the first national campaign to press the Bureau to report data on same-sex couples (National LGBTQ Task Force 2017). In 2005, the Census Bureau responded by beginning to test and report on data on same-sex couples in response to the “relationship” question (U.S. Census Bureau 2018). Starting in 2013, all Census tables that have a line for “married couples” include same-sex couples.
As we approach the 2020 Census, including measures of sexual orientation and gender identity on the 2020 Census questionnaire has become a widely discussed topic (Wang 2017). Modifications to the “relationship” question on the 2020 Census questionnaire will allow respondents to explicitly identify themselves as the married or unmarried same-sex partner of the householder for the first time. Other questions on gender identity and sexual orientation remain in the testing phase for possible inclusion on future Censuses or American Community Survey questionnaires. For more information about his topic see www.queertheCensus.org.
6.7 Summary
Generally, males have higher net undercount rates and higher omissions rates than females. There is virtually no gap between males and females for children (under age 18) or for the population over age 70. For adults in the 20s, 30s and 40s, males typically have a much a higher net undercount rates and higher omissions rates that females.
The male-female gap in coverage is larger for the population living in rental housing units than those living in owner-occupied units. The coverage gap between males and females is particularly large in the Black population.
The net undercount rates of males and females have both improved since the 1940 Census, but the gap between males and females has grown a little wider in recent decades.
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