In 2024, Aurora Illinois agreed to pay the Census Bureau up to $1 million to conduct a special census in hopes of recouping over $4 million per year in lost federal funding due to undercounts in the 2020 decennial census.
After significant delays due to federal staff cuts and hiring freezes, the recount is now underway, expected to be completed in November. The recount will focus only on parts of the community where new developments are most concentrated, and as a result expectations are that up to $2 million in annual funding may be recovered. In various reports, the mayor estimated that waiting until after the 2030 results are certified would cost the city $43 million in lost revenue.
The special census program is available upon request from any unit of government that is willing to cover the costs, and it used most often by those who feel they have lost revenue due to specific instances of undercounting. The motivation is to remedy funding losses and does not directly play into redistricting schemes.
Thus far in this cycle, cities in Illinois and Iowa have filed the most requests. Several other cities that originally filed requests rescinded them after government shutdowns and hiring freezes caused significant delays and disruptions, while others found it challenging to get the necessary response to validate the data collection.
In Tennessee, Murfreesboro halted its special census when the state passed new legislation establishing a state-led annual population adjustment program that will be used to allocate revenues and makes the Census Bureau’s special census unnecessary. Several other states, including North Carolina, Washington, Nevada and New York also have localized programs that eliminate the need for cities to pay the census bureau.
The 2020 census had unusual data collection challenges due to COVID-related population shifts and shutdowns. The 2030 census is considering a number of changes to data collection methodology and content.
If you state does not have a locally-led annual population adjustment program, the window is open until May 2027 to request a cost estimate for a special census in your area.