GROUP QUARTERS (GQ) ENUMERATION
The U.S. Census Bureau will aim to count all Americans in the right place, once and only once, by classifying individuals as: 1) living in housing units (house, apartment/townhome, mobile home, rented rooms) and, 2) people not living in housing units (i.e. living in group quarters). The Bureau considers the following group quarters facilities:
Group homes
Nursing facilities/skilled nursing facilities (nursing homes)
Residential treatment facilities
College/university or seminary student housing
Religious group living quarters
Correctional facilities
In-patient hospice facilities
Hospitals
Workers’ group living quarters
Job Corps centers or vocational training facilities
The Bureau uses multiple approaches to try to get an accurate enumeration of people living in group quarters including:
Electronic Response Data Transfer (eResponse)
In-person Interview
Drop Off/Pick Up of Questionnaire
Paper Response Data Collection
To read more about GQ enumeration, check out the following resources:
2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for Group Quarters (GQ) Operation
Group Quarters Enumeration (2018 Census Test)
College Dorm Enumeration Fact Sheet (Census 2010)
Ethnographic Study of the Group Quarters Population in the 2010 Census: Prisons for Adults and Juvenile Correctional Facilities (Michelle Inderbitzin and Anna Chan)