Census Bureau Announces Sites for 2026 Census Test

The U.S. Census Bureau today announced the sites for the 2026 Census Test, the first of two major on-the-ground tests planned in preparation for the 2030 Census.

The 2026 Census Test will evaluate the viability of innovations and enhancements planned for the 2030 Census, with particular focus on improving the count of hard-to-count and historically undercounted populations.

“These locations provide optimal opportunities for us to implement all the changes and enhancements we have planned for the test, under real conditions and on a larger scale than research simulations allow,” said Daniel Doyle, deputy chief of the Census Bureau’s Decennial Census Management Division. “Together, these sites will enable us to test the improvements we’re designing in our efforts to get a complete count of historically undercounted and hard-to-count populations.”

The 2026 Census Test will focus on six operational areas: (1) making it easier for people to respond on their own online, by phone or by mail; (2) improving in-person household data collection; (3) improving methods for counting people living in group quarters; (4) enhancing outreach efforts to create awareness, build trust, and encourage response; (5) enhancing the infrastructure that supports census operations; and (6) processing data concurrently with data collection. Continue reading...

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📌 You May Be Interested In

• Fact Sheet: 2026 Census Test Sites
• Fact Sheet: Preparing for the 2030 Census
• Webinar Recording: 2026 Census Test Site Selection
• Press Kit: 2026 Census Test
  
• Webpage: 2026 Census Test
• Webpage: 2030 Census 

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