The U.S. Census Bureau announced on Mar. 23 that it has updated the locations for its 2026 Census Test to Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina. The move aims to explore new methods for improving census data collection ahead of the full nationwide count in 2030.
The test is important because it will help determine whether working with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) can make census operations more effective and efficient. The results may shape how future censuses are conducted across the country.
Starting May 1, about 154,600 households in both cities will be invited to complete the census test online using computers, smartphones or tablets; phone and mail responses will not be available. The questions mirror those from the American Community Survey, covering topics such as name, race, sex, citizenship and education.
For households that do not respond online by June 1, census takers—including postal workers—may visit in person through August 31 to collect responses directly. In Huntsville, postal workers will be hired as Census Bureau employees outside their regular USPS hours at a pay rate of $19.75 per hour; they will not identify themselves as USPS staff during these visits. In Spartanburg, postal workers will gather responses while delivering mail along their routes as part of their normal USPS duties and may wear official uniforms.
All participating postal workers must pass background checks and receive special training on confidentiality rules under Title 13 of the U.S. Code. Each site expects about twenty-five postal worker census takers alongside an equal number of traditional non-postal worker enumerators.
The pilot seeks to assess whether leveraging local knowledge from postal carriers can improve response rates while reducing costs by limiting repeated household visits. Lessons learned from this effort are expected to inform preparations for a complete national count in the next decennial census.
