Long Beach : Cambodian Count Is Far Below Estimate, Census Says

The U.S. Census Bureau says there are only 17,468 Cambodians living in Long Beach, less than half the number long claimed by city officials and community leaders.

“It’s typical for any group to tend to overestimate its size and importance,” said Glenn Walker, an information specialist in the city’s Planning Department.

Cambodian leaders, who even before the census said they expected an undercount, still maintain that there are at least 40,000 Cambodians in the city--the number long accepted by most city officials.

An independent study organized by the census bureau to document possible counting errors estimated that the city’s Cambodian community may have been undercounted by as much as 18.5%. But even factoring in that figure, Walker said, would place the Cambodian population at about 21,000, well below the previous estimate.