By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Rowan County plans to challenge its 2010 U.S. Census count after identifying about 1,500 houses that may have been left out.
County GIS Coordinator Adrian Rollans said planning staff noticed that for some areas of the county, the census numbers and the county’s records were different.
“We know where houses are for 911 purposes, and we can locate them within the census blocks,” Rollans said. “When we got the data for the blocks, they didn’t match in certain areas with what we have.”
The county also compared the census data, which was released in March of this year, to its 2010 aerial photography, said Planning Director Ed Muire.
“Where we saw major discrepancies — by more than 10 — we had real concerns about what was going on,” Muire said.
The planning department then asked officials with the U.S. Census Bureau how to dispute the numbers.
“We are required to submit maps and lists of all addresses we think may be in the wrong place or may not be counted,” Rollans said.
The county does not have to prove that anyone lived in those houses at the time of the 2010 census — only that they were livable.
If the bureau determines that the housing count should be changed, it will adjust the county’s population figures according to a formula.
But even if the housing numbers are wrong, that doesn’t mean the county’s population will go up, Rollans said. The bureau may simply have put 1,500 houses in the wrong blocks, which are the smallest geographic units for which census data is broken down.
“You would think if that was the case, some blocks would be way overcounted as well,” he said. “But we found more that are under than over.”
Rollans said he doesn’t know if the county or any of its municipalities have challenged census counts before. The town of China Grove also plans to dispute its numbers this year, and town officials say recently annexed residents were not counted. (See related story.)
Muire also is submitting China Grove’s challenge, because the county handles the town’s zoning and planning.
He said the process will take longer for Rowan County’s dispute, but he plans to submit that documentation by the end of this year. He said he doesn’t know how long it would take for any changes would be made.
“We’re hoping that it comes out in our favor, and that these houses … will turn out to be verified and changed,” Rollans said. “Even if it doesn’t mean that we gain in population, it will at least help us to feel confident about the statistics.”
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.