John Raoux / AP
A briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door of a residence Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Winter Park, Fla.
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas officials are concerned that the recently concluded 2020 Census did not accurately count the city’s homeless population.
City Manager Scott Adams said during Wednesday’s city council meeting that an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 residents live unsheltered in Clark County, with a “significant share” within Las Vegas limits.
Several thousand could have been missed by the census takers, which is a concern for the city because an accurate homeless count is vital for distributing federal funding for programs, Adams said.
“Understanding that a significant share of those persons are in the city of Las Vegas, we could be experiencing a significant undercount in the city if they didn’t do the outdoor count properly,” Adams said.
Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall, who was in charge of the state’s complete count committee, said homeless shelters are at a reduced capacity during the pandemic, meaning more of the homeless population is on the streets and harder to account for. Census officials say they counted the homeless over three days in late-September.
State demographer Jeff Hardcastle gave the U.S. Census Bureau information on places where the homeless population is typically heavy, such as transient housing units and weekly hotels, Marshall said.
But Mayor Carolyn Goodman expressed worries that homeless encampments were not correctly counted.
Marshall sent a formal letter to the bureau to express concerns, but the bureau assured her they did a sufficient job, she told the council.
She said the state has asked the bureau for the official homeless count, but has not received a response.
It’s not immediately clear what recourse the city could have if the count was done inaccurately.
While the bureau has shut down the count, the final report will not be available until results are delivered to the president by Dec. 31.
“Obviously, you can’t appeal what is not yet submitted,” Marshall said.
