The Census Bureau’s current method of counting people in prison and jail is prone to errors with sizable consequences. Counting incarcerated people at home can produce more accurate data.

The Prison Policy Initiative examined 2020 Census data to better understand the impact of this often overlooked error. They found that it is not a rare mistake; it is perpetuated across the country and across the decades. And the solution is clear: by counting incarcerated people as residents of their homes the Census Bureau will minimize technical inaccuracies while also ending prison gerrymandering.