Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Background Paper On Institutional Data And U.S. Census Counts Of Low-Income Populations In Milwaukee County, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Comparisons of institutional data and the U.S. census estimates for the same or similar time periods revealed a large undercount of AFDC recipients. For both the CPS and decennial census surveys, respondents are asked to recall earnings and other sources of income for the previous calendar year. As a result, income reporting to the Census Bureau is subject to memory error and under-reporting. Errors due to under-reporting are most pronounced for income not derived from earnings (i.e., public assistance, interest, dividends). Discrepancies between U. S. Census estimates for the public assistance population compared to actual payment records from state public …