West Chester staff weigh special census to correct undercount that could net ~$70,000 in state funds

Nick Fink, West Chester—s manager of enterprise data and applications, urged the ACT Committee on Nov. 11 to consider a targeted special census after noting the borough—s official 2020 count of 18,671 is far below the borough—s current estimates of nearly 23,000.

Fink said the discrepancy likely stems from the 2020 count occurring during the COVID pandemic when many students were away. He said the borough submitted a Special Census request (Form 900 and an official letter) to the U.S. Census Bureau seeking a cost estimate for a recount of selected census blocks that contain most student housing.

“That then becomes the official count for the town, and then that becomes the baseline for the state and census population estimates,” Fink said, explaining why the borough is pursuing the step.

The primary rationale is funding: Fink estimated the higher count could yield roughly $70,000 a year in additional state liquid-fuels funds, not including any extra road-mileage dollars tied to updated street mileage. He advised limiting the special census to the most student-dense wards and census blocks to reduce cost.

Council members and staff discussed scope and cost trade-offs. Fink pointed to wards with high apartment density in the downtown area as the likeliest place to capture the most residents. He cautioned that special-census costs vary widely and can be large for bigger jurisdictions, but said West Chester—s density may make a targeted recount cost-effective.

Next steps: staff requested a cost estimate from the Census Bureau and signaled they will balance cost against expected revenue gains before presenting a formal recommendation to a future work session.