March 2026 Issue

As a valued U.S. Census Bureau partner and stakeholder, this newsletter is designed to keep you informed and engaged.

The U.S. Census Bureau last month announced it has modified 2026 Census Test sites to Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina. These sites were selected to give the Census Bureau the opportunity to explore how working with the U.S. Postal Service could increase effectiveness and how to improve in-field enumeration processes for the 2030 Census.

Starting on May 1, the Census Bureau will invite approximately 154,600 households in Spartanburg and Huntsville to respond to the test online in English only via computer, smartphone and tablet. 

Censuses and surveys provide vital information for nearly all aspects of society. Underpinning these efforts is the meticulous planning from organizations tasked with collecting this information from millions of respondents.

A key aspect of taking censuses and conducting surveys is understanding the communities to which questionnaires are sent and the likelihood of residents responding. To help inform future survey and census planning, the Census Bureau has released operational statistics from the 2020 Census, as well as predicted low response rates for tracts and block groups in the United States.

The main set of data from the 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES) is now available, offering the first single, comprehensive annual snapshot of U.S. employer businesses.

The AIES provides economic data at detailed geographies, which for many sectors were previously only available at the national level.