ICYMI: NRF Policy Lab Report Examines How Proposed Census Changes Threaten College Town Representation

Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF)’s Policy Lab released a new report detailing how rule changes proposed by the Census Bureau could make it nearly impossible for colleges and universities to be fully represented in decennial census data. The report highlights one underreported aspect of the Census Bureau’s proposed rule change, which would also impose other serious harms.

The report, titled Census IRS Rule Threatens College Town Representation, estimates the potential impact of new rules proposed by the Census Bureau on the accuracy of population counts in college towns. Among other changes, the proposed rules would alter the definition of “usual residence” to be “consistent with, and evidenced by” an individual’s tax records for the purposes of conducting the decennial census count, which could exclude students who are classified as dependents from being counted as residents of their college towns. The analysis finds that the population count of college towns may drop by as much as 30-40% when the data is limited to IRS records. The report concludes that this change could significantly reduce funding for college towns and, in turn, for higher education institutions.

“Cities and towns across the country, including college towns, depend on an accurate census count to ensure they receive equal representation and federal funding,” said Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the NRF. “This proposed rule is damaging, and its potentially devastating effect on college towns is just one more example. No matter what any community’s main economic drivers are, everyone should be counted, and the Census Bureau is proposing a rule that would penalize college towns and other areas that are home to large universities. If implemented, it could have disastrous consequences for communities across the country—and it must be stopped. ”

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