The United States at 250: How the Country Has Changed in the Past 50 Years
As America turns 250, explore how demographics, work, family and economics have shifted since 1976, based on 50 years of Census data.
Demographic Research
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Who Are You? The Art and Science of Measuring Identity
As a shop that studies human behavior through surveys and other social scientific techniques, we have a good line of sight into the contradictory nature of human preferences. Here’s a look at how we categorize our survey participants in ways that enhance our understanding of how people think and behave.
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Assessing the effects of generation using age-period-cohort analysis
In this piece, we demonstrate how to conduct age-period-cohort analysis, a statistical tool, to determine the effects of generation.
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How Pew Research Center will report on generations moving forward
When we have the data to study groups of similarly aged people over time, we won’t always default to using the standard generational definitions and labels, like Gen Z, Millennials or Baby Boomers.
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5 things to keep in mind when you hear about Gen Z, Millennials, Boomers and other generations
It can be useful to talk about generations, but generational categories are not scientifically defined and labels can lead to stereotypes and oversimplification.
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How a coding error provided a rare glimpse into Latino identity among Brazilians in the U.S.
An error in how the Census Bureau processed data from a national survey provided a rare window into how Brazilians living in the U.S. view their identity.
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Why the U.S. census doesn’t ask Americans about their religion
The Census Bureau has collected data on Americans’ income, race, ethnicity, housing and other things, but it has never directly asked about their religion.
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Government considering changes ahead of 2030 census – including no more forms for most Americans
The bureau is considering counting most Americans using Social Security data, IRS files and other administrative records.
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Key facts about the quality of the 2020 census
The national total in the 2020 census was largely accurate, but the Census Bureau has estimated miscounts for some states and demographic groups.
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U.S. Hispanic population continued its geographic spread in the 2010s
The U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.1 million in 2020, an increase of 23% over the previous decade.
