Public comment closes Oct 13, 2026
The Census Bureau has proposed unprecedented changes to how the 2030 Census counts the country. Everyone who is counted, and everyone who relies on the count, can weigh in until October 13.
From the proposed rule published Sept 10, 2026 (Docket No. 260903-0005).
Change 01
International students, work-visa holders, refugees, asylees, and other residents would be dropped from the apportionment count for the first time. The fear it creates would depress response in households with citizens, too.
How the count would shrink →Change 02
A new January 3 to April 1 “enumeration period” and a tax-records test for where you live would miscount snowbirds, movers, rural P.O. box filers, college students, and service members.
Why tax records fail as addresses →Change 03
Asked in some form in every census since 1790, race and ethnicity questions would be prohibited. Nearly every other survey is weighted to census counts, so the loss would ripple through public health, civil rights, and business data.
What we lose without race data →Seats in Congress and district lines, but also schools, roads, hospitals, disaster response, public health, and business planning. Nearly every part of public life runs on the census count.
Read the full explainer →