Census to Poll America's Registered Nurses Again
Published Date: 4/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The Census Bureau wants to restart the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses with some updates and is asking for public feedback by June 17, 2025. This survey helps understand the nursing workforce better and affects nurses and healthcare planners. There’s no new cost mentioned, but your input helps keep the survey smooth and useful!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Census restarting nurse survey (comment deadline)
The Census Bureau is proposing to restart the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses and is asking for public comments through June 17, 2025. The notice invites the public and other agencies to comment for 60 days before the Census submits the survey package to OMB.
Who will be contacted and time expected
The Census will mail initial invitations to 125,000 registered nurses; the survey expects about 62,500 respondents and estimates each response will take 30 minutes, totaling 31,250 burden hours. Participation is voluntary and the Census reports an expected 50% response rate for 2026.
Small $5 incentive for most invitees
Ninety percent of the sampled RNs will receive a $5 unconditional monetary incentive with the initial invitation; no other incentives are planned for follow-ups. The Census estimates the total annual cost to the public is $0.
Changes to survey questions (including burnout)
The 2026 survey will revise questionnaire content: coronavirus-related questions and redundant open-ended items were removed, explanatory help text was added, and new questions about teaching/precepting nurses and nursing burnout were added; new content was cognitively tested. The final questionnaire will appear in the OMB submission.
How responses will be collected and help available
All 125,000 RNs will get a web invitation; follow-up will include two more web invitations, two reminder postcards, and one paper questionnaire mailing. A Telephone Questionnaire Assistance (TQA) line will be available to answer questions and to collect responses by phone using access to the web instrument if the respondent requests it.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-20249, Notice of Data Sharing Activity
Starting October 2, 2026, the Census Bureau will share some business survey data with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to help make U.S. economic stats more accurate and efficient. This affects businesses that voluntarily provide info in Census surveys, with no legal pressure to share. Only trusted BEA staff sworn to keep data secret will see the info, and there’s no cost impact for businesses.
2026-20155, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD)
The Census Bureau wants to keep collecting data for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program, which helps track jobs and workers over time. They’re asking the public to comment by November 30, 2026, before they get final approval from the Office of Management and Budget. This keeps the data flowing without adding extra hassle or cost to businesses and workers.
2026-20167, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; DOC-Census Workforce Development Collection
The Census Bureau is asking for approval to collect info from 230 workforce training groups linked to Manufacturing USA and two grant programs. This new data will help track how well these training programs work by connecting participant info with Census data. The goal? To make smarter decisions about future workforce investments without adding too much extra work—each group spends just 1-2 hours a year on this.
2026-20153, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Quarterly Services Survey (QSS)
The U.S. Census Bureau wants to keep running the Quarterly Services Survey for three more years without changes. This survey asks certain U.S. service businesses for info to help track the economy. If you’re involved, you can comment by November 30, 2026, but there’s no new cost or extra paperwork planned.
2026-19301, Proposed Data Sharing Activity
The Census Bureau wants to share some business data with the Bureau of Economic Analysis to help improve economic reports. This change affects businesses whose data is collected and aims to make government info more useful without extra costs. People have until November 23, 2026, to share their thoughts on this plan.
2026-18481, Decennial Census of the Population of Americans; Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions
The Census Bureau is proposing to add two new parts to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the decennial census of population and housing. First, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part outlining the residence criteria used for identifying each person's "usual residence," as needed to determine whether and where to count them in the census of the population throughout the United States. Second, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part establishing standards and restrictions for the inclusion of certain demographic questions on the decennial census short-form questionnaire and any other questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population. The Census Bureau is considering these two additions to better prioritize and fulfill its Constitutional mandate to count for apportionment the "whole number of persons in each State" based on the concept of "usual residence"--a process that factors in an element of allegiance but otherwise should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics, such as race. Although these two parts are somewhat related and complementary, each is being proposed independently based on its own merits. These proposals are intended to ensure fidelity to the Constitution, improve and protect the core decennial census data, and promote efficiency.
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