Association of Population Centers (APC) is a left-of-center nonprofit organization that publishes research on population data. ¹ Its research is used to claim that there are overpopulation issues and to advocate for increased public funding of social programs and population research. ^{2 3}

APC meets with congressional staffers and advocates for increased funding of research programs from which its members receives funding and claims that the funding is needed for public interests. ²

Background

The Association of Population Centers is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that was founded in 1991 to study population data. ⁴ Its members use population data to produce publications to advocate increased funding of social and research programs. ⁵

APC partners with the Population Reference Bureau to provide guidelines for its member organizations’ publications and to publish its member’s research. It partners with the Population Association of America (PAA) to advocate for increased funding of federal programs for which its members produce research. ^{1 2}

Publications

The Association of Population Centers supported the research for and co-published a research brief summarizing the findings of Overcoming the Odds: The Benefits of Completing College for Unlikely Graduates, a book written by APC president Jennie E. Brand. ¹ The book outlines data that it claims suggests that people of “disadvantaged” backgrounds are more likely to be more successful if they have a college degree but are still more likely to be less successful socioeconomically. The brief, written by Population Reference Bureau’s Diana Elliot, is critical of people losing benefits from social programs and reports that the book suggests there is a lack of social programs to help “disadvantaged” people attend and be admitted to college. The research uses socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, geography, and academic performance as possible qualifications for who it considers to be “disadvantaged.” ⁶

In May 2024, APC published an article claiming how data shows that low-elevation coastal areas are overpopulated and that the data shows ethnic minorities are “overrepresented” within the data. It also argues that there is a lack of disaster relief funding for renters and ethnic minorities and advocates for disaster planning to address homeownership of and funding received by ethnic minorities. ³

Advocacy

In March 2024, the Association of Population Centers and Population Association of America (PAA) published its fiscal year 2025 federal budget priority list, advocating increased funding for a list of agencies and programs and claiming that it was necessary to continue uninterrupted population research. It provides a description for nine programs and agencies that explains how much of an increase in funding it needs and what research it would be supporting. The recommendation’s lowest budget increase recommendation was a 7.5 percent budget increase for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research program, totaling a $3.579 billion increase, and its largest budget increase request in percentage terms was a 78 percent increase for a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) program, totaling a $33 million budget increase. At the end of its Budget Priority publication, it has a disclaimer that it represented the interests of the researchers who are recipients of the funding through the various programs and agencies. ²

In March 2024, APC and PAA held their annual Advocacy Day during which it invited researchers to join executives and meet with congressional staff to promote the 2025 budget priority list, advocating for increased funding of various agencies and programs to fund population research. APC’s blog post reporting on the event stated that it held over sixty meetings with staffers and celebrated Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) for promoting the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in population data used for congressional apportionment. ⁵

Leadership

University of Central Los Angeles UCLA sociology professor Jennie E. Brand is the president of the Association of Population Centers. She is also co-director of the Center for Social Statistics (CSS), sits on the board of directors of the Population Association of America, is a member of the Technical Review Committee for the National Longitudinal Surveys Program at the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and is president of the International Sociological Association (ISA) Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility (RC28). ⁷

Financials

In 2023, the Association of Population Centers reported $103,733 in revenue and $96,287 in total expenses. ^{8 9}

1. “Research Briefs.” Association of Population Centers, May 30, 2024. https://www.popcenters.org/research/research-briefs/
2. “Policy Center.” Population Association of America. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.populationassociation.org/viewdocument/paaapc-fiscal-year-2025-budget-pri.
3. “Crowded Coasts Put 1 in 10 Americans at Risk for Floods, Other Hazards.” PRB. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.prb.org/articles/crowded-coasts-put-1-in-10-americans-at-risk-for-floods-other-hazards/.
4. Association of Population Centers. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.popcenters.org/.
5. “Population Scientists Take to Capitol Hill for 2024 Advocacy Day.” Association of Population Centers, March 13, 2024. https://www.popcenters.org/2024/03/07/population-scientists-take-to-capitol-hill-for-2024-advocacy-day/.
6.  “College Degrees Yield Lifetime Benefits for the Unlikeliest Graduates.” PRB. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.prb.org/articles/college-degrees-yield-lifetime-benefits-for-the-unlikeliest-graduates/.
7. “Jennie E. Brand.” UCLA Sociology, October 11, 2024. https://soc.ucla.edu/person/jennie-e-brand/.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ). Association of Population Centers. 2023. Part I, Line 9.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ). Association of Population Centers. 2023. Part I, Line 17.