Census miscounts in Texas and Florida may have been big enough to cost those states a congressional seat this decade, and may have helped states such as Rhode Island keep a seat, according to data in a Census Bureau report released Thursday.
The report estimated how much the 2020 census either overcounted or undercounted the total population in each state and showed the count largely was accurate in all but 14 states. However, the bureau found the count varied by as much as 5 percent in states like Arkansas, Florida, Texas, New York and Minnesota.
In Florida, for example, the census missed an estimated 3 percent of its overall population. The state gained one congressional seat based on the census results, but fell short of getting a second additional seat by 171,000 people, or less than 1 percent of its population.
