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Count Question Resolution

The Census Bureau established the 2010 Census Count Question Resolution (CQR) Program by which State, local and Tribal area elected officials may challenge their jurisdiction's 2010 Census counts. On June 1, 2011, the Count Question Resolution (CQR) Program began accepting 2010 Census challenge submissions. All challenges must be received by the Census Bureau no later than June 1, 2013.

The U.S. Census Bureau partnered with state, local and tribal governments across the nation to help ensure a complete and accurate count in the 2010 Census. The Census Bureau's goal was to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. There are historically a small percentage of cases where a wrong geographic boundary or coding of a housing unit was used to produce the official census population and housing counts for a local area. There may also be processing errors. The Census Bureau will not collect any additional data during the challenge process.

If a challenge results in a change, the Census Bureau will issue official revised counts to the affected governments. These changes can be used by the governments for future programs that require official 2010 Census data. They will also be used to calculate subsequent population estimates for that community. To view the current list of jurisdictions that have submitted a 2010 CQR Challenge, click here: 2010 CQR Challenges [PDF, 184kb]. To view a document that provides a summary of the Census Bureau's CQR challenge processing activities, click here: CQR Challenge Process Stages [PDF, 208kb]

To view the CQR Changes by State, Governmental Unit, Tabulation Tract and Block, click here: 2010 Census Notes and Errata [PDF, 1,182 kb]. This document is updated on a weekly basis.

To view 2010 Census maps that were corrected based on the results of 2010 CQR boundary challenges, click here: 2010 Census CQR Corrected Maps. These maps are updated on a flow basis starting April 2, 2012.

To view CQR changes identified through notes added to affected data cells in the American FactFinder (AFF) Summary File, Demographic and P.L. tables, click here: www.factfinder2.census.gov. The CQR updates to AFF will be made on a quarterly basis starting on December 15, 2011.

For more information:

IT'S A FACT: Following the 2000 Census, potential count problems were identified for 1,180 out of 39,000 jurisdictions — less than 3 percent of all governmental jurisdictions across the nation. The final 2000 CQR corrections resulted in a net gain in population of about 2,700 people. This amounts to about 1/1000th of one percent of the nation's population of 281 million people counted in the 2000 Census.

Guidelines for Stateside Count Question Resolution (CQR) Challenges [PDF, 2,237 kb] – Updated
These guidelines provide detailed instructions and examples for how to prepare and submit a CQR challenge. This document was updated on August 2, 2011 with a new FAX Number on page 23, section 5.4.

City-Style Address List Template for CQR Challenge [Excel, 29 kb]
Non-City Style Address List Template for CQR Challenge [Excel, 28 kb]
GQ Address List Template for CQR Challenge [Excel, 29 kb])

Guidelines for Puerto Rico Count Question Resolution (CQR) Challenges [PDF, 3,462 kb] – Revised October 2011
These guidelines provide detailed instructions and examples for how to prepare and submit a CQR challenge.

Puerto Rico City-Style Address List Template for CQR Challenge [Excel, 33 kb])
Puerto Rico Non-City Style Address List Template for CQR Challenge [Excel, 29 kb])
Puerto Rico GQ Address List Template for CQR Challenge [Excel, 30 kb])


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