Mayor Gallego Announces Successful Appeal of Phoenix Census Count

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced the City of Phoenix’s successful appeal to correct the 2020 Census Count. Earlier this year, Gallego wrote a letter to initiate the appeal process, in which she indicated that over 3,500 people in 192 “Group Quarter” facilities were missed during the 2020 census count that took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Counting every person matters, and I am incredibly thankful to the Census Bureau for offering this avenue to address omissions in the 2020 Census,” said Mayor Gallego. “This successful outcome will not only mean that we will be able to receive our fair share in federal funding for the remainder of the decade, but also set us up for success for the 2030 Census. As the fastest-growing big city in the country, that will be critical to our future.”

“We will send the updated group quarters population to the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program where they will be included in the baseline data used to produce upcoming annual population estimates,” the letter from the Census Bureau read.

While Phoenix and the Valley area continue to grow faster than any other place in our country, the Census Bureau acknowledged they likely undercounted group facilities known as “Group Quarters” throughout Phoenix. As such, in May 2022, the Census Bureau announced the 2020 Post-Census Group Quarters Review program, a mechanism for local governments to request that the Bureau review the 2020 Census Group Quarters population count. The City of Phoenix worked with Bloomberg Associates to find that approximately 192 Group Quarter facilities were not counted in the 2020 Census Group Quarters Operation, with a total corresponding population of approximately 3,550 people residing in them.

This successful adjustment to the count will benefit Phoenix for the next eight years by rendering additional dollars to the city via state and federal allocations, which go to programs such as Medicaid, Head Start, nutritional assistance, public safety grants, and federal housing initiatives. Estimates done reveal that for every individual counted, the city could earn thousands of dollars, thereby amounting to millions of dollars per year in federal funding for Phoenix.  ​