Census Tests New Ways to Speed Up Community Surveys
Published Date: 4/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The Census Bureau is testing new ways to improve the American Community Survey (ACS) by asking up to 288,000 people to try out different questions and methods. These tests aim to make the survey easier and faster, with some parts taking about 40 minutes. The government is asking for public feedback before final approval, and these changes could affect how future surveys are done without costing extra money.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Selected Households Must Respond; Time Burden
You may be required to respond to ACS Methods Panel tests if your address is sampled. Some tests ask up to 288,000 people for each experiment and most test questionnaires take about 40 minutes to complete (follow-up interviews may take about 20 minutes). The notice lists total burden of 664,000 hours over 3 years and annual burden hours of 221,333.
Large Sample Sizes for Specific Tests
Specific tests use very large samples—for example, the Questionnaire Timing Test and the Response Option and Error Message Design Test each sample 288,000 respondents; additional internet and mail/contact strategy tests sample multiple groups of 60,000; content testing samples 40,000 with a 40-minute instrument and a 40,000 follow-up interview at 20 minutes. The total maximum number of test respondents listed is 1,016,000 over the 3-year program.
Testing Internet, QR, and Mail Changes to Reduce Follow‑up
The tests include changes like adding QR codes to mailings, revised web response buttons and error messages, improvements to login and navigation, and redesigned mail messaging and contact timing. The Census says if these changes are successful they could increase self-response and decrease data collection costs and reduce CAPI nonresponse follow-up activity.
Content Testing May Add or Change Questions
The Census will test changes to ACS question wording, response categories, and constructs and may test new questions; it will solicit proposals from other federal agencies to change or add ACS questions and will compare revised questions to current ACS items and benchmarks. Follow-up interviews may be used to measure response bias or variance.
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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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