May 30, 2023 – Tribal, state and local governments have four more weeks to submit a request to the U.S. Census Bureau to review their official 2020 Census group quarters population counts. This one-time initiative is known as the 2020 Post-Census Group Quarters Review Program (PCGQR). The deadline for submitting a case is June 30, 2023. (The 2020 PCGQR is distinct from the 2020 Census Count Question Resolution (CQR) operation. CQR’s submission deadline is also June 30, 2023.)

The 2020 PCGQR operation gives governmental units or their designated representatives the opportunity to submit information and ask the Census Bureau to review their 2020 Census group quarters population counts for group quarters facilities they believe were not correctly counted as of April 1, 2020.

Governmental units that would like to request a review can submit their cases via the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM). Instructions on how to submit are available on the 2020 PCGQR webpage.

Once a resolution is determined for each case, the Census Bureau will provide an official determination letter to inform the highest elected official of the governmental unit whether the case was determined to be in scope, out of scope, or if no updates are warranted. The Census Bureau will inform governmental units of the results of their case (subject to the requirements of Title 13) on a rolling basis and aims to complete all cases by September 30, 2023. 

What the 2020 PCGQR Provides and Does Not Provide

As explained on the PCGQR webpage, no errata table will be provided and, in compliance with Title 13, we will not be able to disclose specific details about the submitted cases. Therefore, if governmental units receive a response from the Census Bureau stating that their submission was approved, that means that at least some part of the submission was found to be in scope and accepted for a correction, but the Census Bureau is not able to identify which portions of the submission were considered to be in scope and accepted, due to the confidentiality requirements of Title 13.

The results from accepted 2020 PCGQR cases will be incorporated on a rolling basis as they are processed. The updated GQ population and corresponding demographic characteristics will be applied to the 2020 Census input files that are used to develop the April 1, 2020, population estimates base. The updated information is included with the original data, at which point differential privacy is applied, and the resulting data are then used in our population estimates method to generate the annual estimates (More information about our methodology is located at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology.html>).

Localities whose cases were accepted in time for Vintage 2023 estimates production may approximate the impact of their 2020 PCGQR cases by comparing the population in the April 1, 2020 estimates base in the Vintage 2023 Population Estimates against the corresponding value for the April 1, 2020 estimates base in the Vintage 2022 Population Estimates (found at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html>). Please note that the April 1, 2020 estimates base may also reflect changes due to the CQR program, geographic program revisions and the application of disclosure avoidance to protect confidentiality.

In March 2024, some localities can expect to start seeing updates incorporated into the April 1, 2020 estimates base in the Vintage 2023 Population Estimates at the county level. Cities and towns can expect to start seeing some 2020 PCGQR updates in the Vintage 2023 Population Estimates in May 2024. All updates from the 2020 PCGQR are expected to be incorporated by the Vintage 2024 Population Estimates to be released in 2025. The full release schedule for the Population Estimates Program can be found on the Census Bureau’s website.

2020 PCGQR does not change 2020 Census counts or data products such as apportionment and redistricting and no errata table will be provided. Again, these updates will be incorporated into the population estimates base. Estimates developed from the updated population base will be used by the American Community Survey and the Puerto Rico Community Survey.

More information on the 2020 PCGQR operation is available on the 2020 Post-Census Group Quarters Review (PCGQR) webpage.

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