Census 2010 Preparation in Delaware County

In order to ensure 100% population count for Delaware County, Delaware County Auditor’s GIS office has participated in two Census 2010 related programs; the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) and the Boundary Annexation Survey (BAS).

LUCA, a decennial partnership program, allows the local governments to review and update the Census Bureau’s Master Address File (MAF). The Bureau will use the addresses in the MAF to deliver questionnaires within the county. The BAS program allows the local governments to review the Bureau’s geographic boundary files such as cities, villages, and townships and submit corrections to those boundaries. The accuracy of BAS ensures that every person is counted where they reside.

For both programs, local governments were given a total of 120 days to review and submit feedback. The GIS team utilized its advanced GIS system and datasets to review these files for all 26 townships and municipalities within the county. The datasets for both projects were delivered to the county at the end of November 2007 and all feedbacks were submitted to the Bureau after 120 days.

LUCA Results and its Impact on Population Figures

The County’s MAF (as delivered) included 61,738 addresses. After a thorough investigation and analysis of the content of the file, the County:

• Added 10,111 addresses to the MAF
• Deleted 7,423 addresses from the MAF (deleted addresses either didn’t exist in Delaware County, were duplicate addresses, or were non residential)
• Corrected 5,714 addresses in the MAF (various components of the address were incorrect, i.e. road direction, name, unit numbers)

Had the County not participated in the LUCA program, the Bureau’s MAF would have had +/-54,300 (61738-7423) reliable addresses which amounts to +/-146,600 in population (based on the 2000 Population Index* of 2.7). However, with over 10,000 additional submitted addresses, the County’s population will potentially exceed 173,000 (an approximate gain of +/-27,000 people + 146,600).

A population increase of +/-27,000 means that the County could potentially gain over 78 million dollars of additional funds during the next decade. [27,000 additional population X $2,913** = $78,651,000].

BAS Results:

The GIS office also participated in another Census program called Boundary Annexation Survey (BAS) where it reviewed the accuracy of Census Bureau’s geographic boundaries such as city, village and townships as well as road centerlines. As a result of this review, over 1,300 corrections were submitted to the Census Bureau.

How Census Data is used:

• Apportionment of Congressional Districts
• Re-drawing boundaries of legislative districts
• Apportionment of federal funds to state, tribal, and local governments
• State funds distribution
• Accurate local statistical data
• Data for community
• For planning decisions (where to build schools, roads, services for the elderly, and etc.)

Note: Delaware County Auditor’s GIS office also participated in census 2000 programs in the late 1990’s. As a result of that project, over 11,000 missing addresses were submitted to the Bureau.

* Population Index is the number of people per household.

** According to a study for the Census Monitoring Board in 2001, (Effect of Census 2000 Undercount on Federal Funding to States and Selected Counties, 2002-2012) the county could lose $2,913 for each uncounted person.

To see the number of Addtional/Missing addresses by year of recordation, click here.

The following table shows the number of addresses submitted by jurisdiction:

The following maps/screenshots are in PDF format and reflect the existing and submitted addresses. The red dots indicate addresses submitted to the Census Bureau. The blue dots indicate addresses already existing in the Bureau's address files.

Note: Due to limitations related to Title 13 of the United states, information on these maps are generalized.

Read the story published April 9, 2008 in the Delaware Gazette.