NYC, Detroit, Other Cities Dispute Census Tallies

Several cities across the country, including the Big Apple and the Motor City, contend that they are being shortchanged on federal money because the U.S. Census undercounted their populations.

The city that never sleeps contends census takers were sleeping. (Getty Images Photo)

Those challenging the government’s 2010 count range from the multimillion-person population centers such as New York City and Miami, to Detroit hovering under 1 million to those with tens of thousands, such as Plymouth, Mass., USA Today reported Wednesday.

Some of the cities plan to file challenges to the totals, while others may sue, the newspaper reported. Census figures are crucial to determining federal funding amounts for schools, public safety and infrastructure.

In New York City, parts of the Bronx and Queens were wrongly classified as vacant, local officials told USA Today.

Officials around the country also cited language barriers and mistrust of census workers, especially by immigrants, as reasons citizens were reluctant to cooperate with the count.

Others simply feel their privacy is at stake, said Laurence Pizer, town clerk of historic Plymouth, where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. “We’ve noticed an increasing reluctance on the part of all citizens to give information,” he told the paper.