Remote Alaska’s vast, sparsely settled areas are historically counted in January of the decennial year, before other parts of the country. The frozen ground present during this time of year allows easier access to these remote villages.  As a result, local census takers can conduct census interviews with residents before the spring thaw and before many of the residents leave their villages to fish, hunt, or pursue other warm-weather jobs.

The first enumerations for the 2020 Census began as scheduled on January 21, 2020, in the remote Alaskan village of Toksook Bay. Most of the Remote Alaska interviews were completed according to the original planned schedule, though some areas with year-round populations were enumerated when it was safe to do so. The Remote Alaska operation lasted for seven months until concluding on August 27, a four-month extension due to COVID-19.

Planned Schedule: January 21 - April 30, 2020                   

Actual Dates: January 21 - August 27, 2020

During the Self-Response phase, residents were able to respond online, by mail, and by phone throughout the data collection period. Overall, 67 percent of households self-responded. The 2020 Census was the first census with the internet as the primary way to respond, and many households took advantage of this option. The majority (nearly 80 percent) of households that self-responded did so online, while 18 percent returned a paper form in the mail and 2 percent responded by phone.

Self-Response began as scheduled on March 12. It ended on October 15, after operating for seven months. This end date reflects an extension of approximately two-and-a-half months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Planned Schedule: March 12 – July 31, 2020

Actual Dates: March 12 – October 15, 2020

Census takers visited nearly 6.8 million households in areas without postal service delivery. While visiting these households, the census takers updated the address and dropped off an invitation to respond to the census online along with a paper questionnaire.

Update Leave began as scheduled on March 15. After three days, the operation took a 7-week pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Update Leave resumed operations using a phased relaunch in specific areas of the country, starting May 6. Update Leave operations resumed nationwide on June 10, ending two months later on August 10. Quality control finished shortly afterward on August 13.

Planned Schedule:  March 15 - April 17, 2020

Actual Dates: March 15 - August 13, 2020

The Update Enumerate operation enumerates households in remote parts of northern Maine and southeast Alaska with unique accessibility challenges, and is an optional method for enumeration in tribal areas. Update Enumerate is a decennial operation that accounts for these challenges by having census takers update the address and conduct a census interview on the initial in-person visit.                                           

Update Enumerate began as scheduled on March 16. After two days, the operation took a three-month pause due to COVID-19. Update Enumerate resumed operations using a phased relaunch starting June 14 and becoming fully operational on June 22.  Update Enumerate ended 10 weeks later, on August 31.     

Planned Schedule: March 16 - April 30, 2020      

Actual Dates: March 16 - August 31, 2020

Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) was a nationwide operation, appropriated by Congress for the 2020 Census, in low-responding areas to promote and assist with responding to the 2020 Census. The operation targeted places where people visit when leaving home, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, faith-based organizations, food pantries, libraries, and city offices, as opposed to large public events.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MQA timeline was shifted by approximately three-and-a-half months. It began with a soft launch on July 6 in certain areas of the country. By July 13, MQA was fully operational, and continued for three months until concluding on October 15.

Planned Schedule: March 24 - July 31, 2020

Actual Dates: July 6 - October 15, 2020   

Through the Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation, census takers conduct in-person interviews to enumerate households that have not yet responded online, by mail, or by phone. Overall for the 2020 Census, 67 percent of households self-responded, and 33 percent were enumerated through NRFU.   

Due to COVID-19, the start of the 2020 Census NRFU was shifted by approximately three months to mid-July. With this later start, the Early NRFU operation, designed to reach college students before the end of the spring semester, was no longer carried out. Given this change, the NRFU operation began with a soft launch on July 16 in specific areas of the country. By August 9, NRFU was being conducted nationwide, and it continued for nearly two more months until October 15 when all in-field data collection ended. In-office processing continued through October 28.

Planned Schedule: April 9 – July 31, 2020                            

Actual Dates: July 16 – October 28, 2020

The Census Bureau enumerates people living in group living arrangements, such as correctional facilities for adults, university student housing, and military quarters. In the 2020 Census, group quarters administrators submitted census responses using the online eResponse portal or by mail. Census takers also visited locations to enumerate the remaining group quarters in person.

The Group Quarters operation began as scheduled on April 1 and continued for five months until August 26. Quality control continued for one more week, ending on September 3. This timeline represents a one-month extension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Planned Schedule: April 1 - July 31, 2020                                           

Actual Dates: April 1 - September 3, 2020

As part of the Group Quarters operation, census takers work with service providers to count people experiencing homelessness at places such as soup kitchens, shelters, regularly scheduled food vans, as well as preidentified outdoor locations such as parks and under bridges.

The start of the 2020 Service-Based Enumeration was shifted by approximately six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It began on September 22 and continued for eight days, ending on September 29.

Planned Schedule: March 30 – April 1, 2020        

Actual Dates: September 22 - September 29, 2020

Census takers count people living in transitory locations such as campgrounds, RV parks, racetracks, circuses, marinas, and hotels.

The start of the 2020 Enumeration at Transitory Locations shifted by nearly five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The operation began on August 31 and ended on September 29.

Planned Schedule: April 9 - May 4, 2020

Actual Dates: August 31 - September 29, 2020

The Census Bureau enumerates people living in the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In partnership with the government of each of these Island Areas, local census takers conducted in-person interviews using a “long form” census questionnaire, which gathered additional information that met the specific data needs of these Island Areas.

The Island Areas Censuses began as scheduled on February 3 with the listing of addresses of all living quarters. In mid-March 2020, all Island Areas took a brief pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection resumed on May 25 in CNMI and the week of June 1 in the other Island Areas. In Guam, the operation took an additional pause on August 21 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. Once the government of Guam allowed data collection to restart two weeks later, enumerators were restricted from conducting in-person interviews and were directed to only complete interviews by telephone. Both enumeration and quality control concluded for all Island Areas by November 3, a four-month extension due to COVID-19.

Planned Schedule: February 3 – June 30, 2020

Actual Dates: February 3 – November 3, 2020

As the first deliverable for a decennial census, the Census Bureau releases the population counts for all 50 states. These counts are used to determine how many representatives from each state will serve in the U.S. House of Representatives―a process called “apportionment.” The statutory deadline for the Secretary of Commerce to provide apportionment counts to the President is no later than December 31 of the decennial year. For the 2020 Census, that deadline was December 31, 2020.

Due to the various operational timeline shifts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census Bureau delivered the 2020 Census apportionment counts on April 26, 2021.

Planned Schedule: December 28, 2020

Actual Dates: April 26, 2021

The Census Bureau delivers population counts and demographic data to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to aid the states in redrawing congressional and state legislative district boundaries—a process known as “redistricting.” The statutory deadline to provide redistricting data is within one year of the decennial census date. For the 2020 Census, that deadline was March 31, 2021.

Due to the various operational timeline shifts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census Bureau provided the 2020 Census Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) in a legacy format on our public File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site on August 12, 2021, and delivered the same redistricting data in an easier-to-use format to the states and the public on September 16, 2021.

Planned Schedule: February 18 - March 31, 2021

Actual Dates: August 12 and September 16, 2021