Welcome

The Census Project is a broad-based coalition of national, state, and local organizations that support an inclusive and accurate 2020 Census and American Community Survey (ACS) (the modern version of the census “long form”). Its member organizations, representing the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors, rely on objective data that the Census Bureau produces to inform evidence-based investment, policy and planning decisions.

Our Mission:

The Census Project encourages Congress and the Administration to fund all phases of the next decennial census and the ongoing ACS to ensure that timely, accurate, and reliable socio-economic and demographic data are collected and disseminated broadly to support informed decision-making in the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors. The Bureau is pursuing sweeping design reforms to ensure the 2020 Census is conducted accurately, inclusively, and cost efficiently; however, it needs steady investment in research, testing, and systems development to achieve these goals.

The Census Project also supports maintaining the ACS as a mandatory survey, to preserve the availability of reliable, irreplaceable data for all communities, including rural areas, neighborhoods, American Indian reservations and Alaska Native villages, and small populations groups (such as people with disabilities, veterans, and national origin subgroups). The U.S. House of Representatives has voted several times, through amendments to the Census Bureau’s annual appropriations bill, to make response to the ACS voluntary, and once to eliminate the ACS entirely. Census Project stakeholders were instrumental in convincing Congress, ultimately, to drop these ill-advised proposals.

Our Activities:

The Census Project’s activities include letters to Congress and the Administration; congressional briefings; fact sheets; press briefings; testimony at congressional hearings; blogs and articles; and regular updates to our national network of stakeholders. We keep stakeholders, the public, and the media informed about key policy and operational developments related to the 2020 Census and ACS, including important research, testing, and development milestones.

The Census Project will continue to support public and media education campaigns that highlight the importance of investing in 2020 Census planning and operations and maintaining a robust ACS.