A comparison of population estimation methods: housing unit versus component II,ratio correlation,and administrative records

The authors present the case for the housing unit (HU) method as a technique for estimating the population of states and local areas in the United States. They "evaluate population estimates produced by the housing unit method and by three other commonly used methods: component II, ratio correlation, and administrative records. Basing [the] analysis on 1980 census data from 67 counties in Florida and testing for precision, bias, and the distribution of errors, [they find that] application of the HU method performs at least as well as the more highly acclaimed methods of local population estimation."