Introduction

The 2010 Census of Puerto Rico Assessment gathers the detailed information necessary to analyze the quality of the integration of Puerto Rico operations into the stateside census. It documents the results of the 2010 Census of Puerto Rico including the workload, production rates, cost, improvement of the Puerto Rico Master Address File, and other major findings and lessons learned for all decennial operations conducted in Puerto Rico. This report also covers the planning, coordination, development, data collection, data capture and data processing phases. This analysis identifies what aspects of the 2010 Census of Puerto Rico worked well, what needs improvement, and what issues affected the operations. It also documents improvements and recommendations that will aid stakeholders and Census management with 2020 Census planning for Puerto Rico.   

The history of the decennial census in Puerto Rico dates back to 1910 when the United States conducted the first population count after acquiring the island as a territory. In 1958 a Memorandum of Agreement was signed with the government of Puerto Rico to define the need for a partnership for the execution of censuses in Puerto Rico. This agreement also established the responsibilities and mutual interests for each party. Until Census 2000, the Puerto Rico Planning Board was the agency appointed by the government of Puerto Rico as the liaison that worked with the Census Bureau on these matters.

For Census 2000, the Government of Puerto Rico requested that the Census Bureau use the same decennial questionnaire content as stateside. Because of this request, respondents’ data processing was handled the same as stateside and statistical data were tabulated using the same procedures as stateside. Since then, Puerto Rico was treated as a state equivalent for most data products. Product layouts, tabulations, and schedules were also the same as stateside.

Until the 1990 Census, the population of Puerto Rico was enumerated using the Update/Enumerate methodology. In 2000, the Census Bureau decided to switch to Update/Leave methodology because of the increase of limited-access communities on the island and the increase of people in the household working and staying out of the home for longer periods of time. The Census Bureau also determined that there was a significant cost savings involved in having only one methodology for the entire island. In addition, reporting and monitoring requirements for one methodology were simpler. For 2010, the Census Bureau decided to continue with the same enumeration methodology as in 2000. This time, additional improvements were considered and implemented in order to conduct an accurate census.

For the 2010 Census, a Census Integrated Communications Program was designed and tailored specifically for Puerto Rico. The Census Bureau recognized the need for such a campaign because of the cultural, linguistic, geographic and social differences between the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States. This campaign targeted all generations and backgrounds and was designed to educate and motivate the entire population of Puerto Rico to participate in the 2010 Census, to increase mail response, and to reduce undercount (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).

For decennial census activities, the Census Bureau established a hierarchy of offices to manage and conduct the operations for the 2010 Census of Puerto Rico. This hierarchy encompassed the Field Division at Census Bureau headquarters, the Boston Regional Census Center, the Puerto Rico Area Office, and the Local Census Offices. Each of these offices had specific responsibilities and tasks essential to the success of the 2010 Decennial Census.

The Boston Regional Office managed the 2010 Census field operations conducted in Puerto Rico. The seven Local Census Offices located in Puerto Rico carried out the field operations on the island under the Puerto Rico Area Office’s supervision. All field operations in Puerto Rico followed the same schedule as and were conducted concurrently with stateside operations. The first field activity to take place in Puerto Rico for the 2010 Census was the Address Canvassing operation, which began in April 2009 and the last was Census Coverage Measurement, which was completed on June 18, 2011.

Three operations that included updating addresses were carried out in Puerto Rico: Address Canvassing, Group Quarters Validation, and Update/Leave. Each of these operations dealt with the collection and verification of addresses in Puerto Rico and had instruments that were adapted specifically for the types of addresses found on the island. Addresses differed from stateside because they contained four lines of information, longer fields and descriptions, as well as different fields and combinations of fields. During the Update/Leave operation, people living in housing units were enumerated, while those living in Group Quarters situations were enumerated during Group Quarters Enumeration. Materials for these operations were adapted to fit Puerto Rico’s unique addressing style and then translated into Spanish.