Today, the U.S. Census Bureau announced this is the last week to respond to the 2026 Census Test. The U.S. Census Bureau is urging all selected households in the Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, metro areas to respond before the August 31 deadline.

Households that received an invitation are still encouraged to respond online via computer, tablet or smartphone. Participating will help improve how everyone in the nation is counted in the 2030 Census.  

Responses must be submitted online by midnight Eastern Time/11 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 31, 2026.

Census Business Builder Tool

On Aug. 26, the U.S. Census Bureau will release version 5.12 of the Census Business Builder (CBB) tool. This release includes streamlined visual styling, clearer selection prompts, and improved legend and dashboard functionality. The release also includes expanded industry information, enhanced tooltips and new data such as per capita income available across all geographic levels. Additional improvements include a new national level geography option, updates to the Industry Tree, and metadata updates and bug fixes for previously known issues. More information on Census Business Builder is available online. 

On Aug. 27., the U.S. Census Bureau will release the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS). This survey measures business conditions on an ongoing basis. BTOS experimental data products are representative of all employer businesses other than farms in the U.S. economy. The data allow greater insight into the state of the economy by providing continuous, timely information for key economic measures. Data are released biweekly and are available by sector, state, employment size and the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas.