Potential Explanations for the High Net Undercount of Young Children in the U.S. Census

Abstract

There is a dearth of studies focused on the reasons for the high net undercount of young children in the U.S. Census. Several different potential ideas that might account for the high net undercount of young children are examined and where available, relevant data are examined. One key distinction is the portion of the net undercount of young children due to whole households being missed in the Census compared to people being missed because they were left off questionnaires that were return.