Short-Cut Methods of Estimating County Population

T HIS study tests the accuracy of selected short-cut methods of estimating the postcensal population of counties. Twenty series of 1950 estimates based on various kinds of symptomatic data and techniques were computed for the thirty-nine counties of Washington state. These estimates were then compared with preliminary 1950 U. S. Census data to gauge the relative accuracy of each method. Two series were computed by conventional mathematical methods, twelve were based on simple symptomatic data, and six were developed from weighted combinations of the twelve simple symptomatic series.