Changes to the federal standards for how race and ethnicity data are collected and reported
Last week the Census Bureau announced that it will implement updated standards for the collection and reporting of race and ethnicity data set by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are effective as of March 28th, 2024. This is the first time the OMB’s race and ethnicity data standards have changed since 1997.
History of the changes
Current question about Hispanic ethnicity.
Current question about racial identity.
The first census administered by the US government included three “race” categories. In the 2020 decennial census, there were nineteen race and ethnic origin checkbox options with room for written-in responses (see the Pew Research Center interactive tool, What Census Calls Us for these changes over time).
Changing race and ethnicity categories reflect an awareness by the government that racial identities change over time and that increased specificity is more helpful for understanding populations than large groupings of dissimilar identities.
In 1995, a Federal Register notice documented the possibility of a combined race and ethnicity question. The public also raised the idea of adding the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) racial category in federal forms. This suggestion continued to be raised over time. The Census Bureau conducted extensive research in 2010 and 2015 on alternate race and ethnicity formats (Research to Improve Data on Race and Ethnicity), which informed the updated standards.
In 2022-2023, a Federal Working Group established by the OMB (the body that determines the minimum standard race and ethnicity categories used by federal agencies) released an initial proposal for changes to the race & ethnicity data standards that included the two changes mentioned above (Federal Register: Initial Proposals For Updating OMB's Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards).
In March, the OMB formally adopted the recommendations of the Working Group for changing the minimum race and ethnicity categories. The updated guidance combines the race and ethnicity categories, which include Hispanic or Latino, and also adds a MENA category. This is reflected in the updated race and ethnicity standard.
“The Working Group's final report states that since 1980, responses to the decennial census in each subsequent decade have shown increasing non-response to the race question, confusion, and concern from the public about separate questions on ethnicity and race.... Results from the 2020 Census showed that 43.5 percent of those who self-identified as Hispanic or Latino either did not report a race or were classified as “Some Other Race” (SOR) alone (over 23 million people).’ This increasing non-response and reporting of SOR was one of the primary indicators to OMB that [the current standard] was no longer providing options that align with how respondents prefer to identify.”
A recent analysis that we shared with the Equity in Data Community of Practice highlights this problem. In this analysis, Cynthia Willner (Senior Research Associate at CTData) found that the racial identities reported by the Census Bureau for Connecticut’s residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino has changed drastically in just two years, as seen in this chart. (Watch the presentation to learn more.)
What are the updated standards?
The Office of Management and Budget updated standards require only one question for race and ethnicity instead of the previous two-step question format.
The new categories under the updated standards are:
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latino
Middle Eastern or North African
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
White
Additional changes will be made to the wording of the question and the options, which you can read about here.
The new standards allow more detailed collection, tabulation, and presentation of data when deemed necessary and beneficial. This can help to provide better insights into the diversity and demographics of communities and populations in the United States.
All federal agencies have been directed to submit an Agency Action Plan to ensure full compliance with the updated standards within the next 18 months. Specifically, the updated race and ethnicity data collection and compliance standards are expected to begin within the next five years.
To ensure these updated standards are maintained and kept up-to-date, OMB plans to establish an interagency committee to routinely review race and ethnicity standards. This will help ensure that the data collected is accurate and reflects the diverse communities and populations in the United States. Read the full description here. More information is provided on the Federal Register and at spd15revision.gov.
For More Information
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