2026 Census Test

The pilot program is a new collaboration between the Census Bureau and USPS to assess the feasibility of using postal workers to collect census responses from households who do not respond on their own. The pilot will help to inform potential nationwide implementation in the 2030 Census.

The USPS already plays an essential role in helping the Census Bureau reach every household in the nation by delivering census information by mail. The Census Bureau aims to leverage postal workers’ local knowledge and existing relationships with communities to collect census responses.

Postal workers will assist with collecting responses from households who do not respond to the 2026 Census Test on their own.

Starting in June and through August, census takers (including postal workers) may visit homes that don’t respond on their own to the 2026 Census Test to count households in person.    

In the Spartanburg test area, postal workers will collect responses as part of their mail delivery routes. Households will either be visited by a postal worker or non-postal census taker depending on their location.  

In Huntsville, the Census Bureau will directly hire postal workers to collect responses outside of their USPS work hours. Because census takers often have to visit households more than once, it is possible that a household is visited by both postal and non-postal census takers.

The Census Bureau will draw on postal workers’ local knowledge and community relationships to collect responses. Whether postal workers conduct follow-up visits during their regular mail routes or outside their postal duties depends on the site.

In Huntsville, the Census Bureau will directly hire postal workers to collect responses outside of their USPS work hours. They will identify themselves solely as Census Bureau employees. There will also be around 25 other (non-postal worker) census takers collecting responses for the same households.

In Spartanburg, households will either be visited by a postal worker or a traditional, non-postal census taker. Only a portion of staff will be postal workers. Postal workers in the pilot will collect responses as part of their delivery routes whereas households visited by a non-postal census taker will be visited by a Census Bureau employee. It will be made clear to respondents that their census taker is a postal worker.

Postal workers will go through the same training as Census Bureau census takers. This includes mandatory training on protecting respondent and data confidentiality, use of Census Bureau-issued devices, and data security requirements. All postal workers will adhere to Title 13 of the U.S. Code confidentiality provisions. They will also have undergone required background checks and will take an oath for life to protect respondent confidentiality.

Yes, like any other census taker, every postal worker who collects data for the Census Bureau will swear an oath to protect the confidentiality of your responses and have undergone a background check and completed mandatory training.