Census Bureau tests citizenship question in Alabama and South Carolina for 2030

The Census Bureau disclosed on February 5-6, 2026, that its 2026 Census Test pilot program in Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina would use American Community Survey forms that include a citizenship question — omitted from the decennial census for 75 years. The test is designed to evaluate methodology for the 2030 census. Democratic House Oversight members urged the Bureau to use standard questionnaires instead, warning the citizenship question would cause an undercount by deterring immigrant and mixed-status households from participating.