A major census test faces cutbacks with postal workers tapped to help count

"The Trump administration is scaling back plans for this year's field test of the 2030 census, raising concerns about the Census Bureau's ability to produce a reliable population tally for redistributing political representation and federal funding in the next decade. The 2026 test was designed to help the bureau improve the accuracy of the country's upcoming once-a-decade head count."

"A mix of communities in six states, as well as a national sample of households, was expected to take part in the experiment. But the agency is now set to reduce the number of test sites to two Spartanburg, S.C., and Huntsville, Ala. while adding plans to try replacing temporary census workers with U.S. Postal Service staff, according to a Federal Register notice that was made available for public inspection Monday before its official publication."

"The bureau is also cutting a plan to provide Spanish- and Chinese-language versions of the census test's online form, which is now set to only be available in English. Spokespeople for the bureau and its parent agency, the Commerce Department, did not immediately respond to NPR's questions, including about what prompted these changes and whether counting for the test is still scheduled to start in March."

The planned 2026 census field test was narrowed from a multi-state experiment to two sites: Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Huntsville, Alabama. The Census Bureau plans to pilot using U.S. Postal Service staff in place of temporary census workers. The online test form will be available only in English after plans for Spanish and Chinese versions were canceled. Several rural and Indigenous communities, including Fort Apache, San Carlos and the Qualla Boundary, were removed from the test. Commerce and Census spokespeople did not immediately explain the changes or confirm the March start date. The bureau stated continued commitment to an accurate 2030 count.

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