Undercounted in 2000, Upton sees big Census gain

Upton has grown significantly over the past decade – but not as much as U.S. Census figures suggest. Local officials say that the increase in the town’s official count, from 5,642 residents in 2000 to 7,542 in 2010, reflects, in part, that the town was undercounted a decade ago.

The Census figures translate into a population increase of 33.7 percent, by far the largest growth in the state among communities with at least 1,000 residents. Town Clerk Kelly McElreath estimates the actual increase in population since 2000 at roughly 20 percent, comparable to that of other Blackstone Valley towns such as Grafton and Douglas.

McElreath said that in 2000, the year before she became the town clerk, more than 266 households that used post office boxes to receive their mail never received a census form. The town missed its chance to enroll in the Local Update of Census Addresses Program, known as LUCA, and as a result the adjusted total for the 2000 Census ended up at 5,642 residents – 727 fewer than the town’s own count.

“We’ve actually been sounding off about the disadvantages for the last 10 years,” said McElreath, referring to the smaller amount of federal money the town has received as a result.

In 2010, 84 percent of Upton’s households filled out a census form, compared to 75 percent for Massachusetts as a whole.

“My assistant spent a good amount of time in 2009 making sure we had all the addresses,” McElreath said.

The effort led to the documentation of 466 households that the federal government did not have in its database.