Change 01
Many residents would no longer count
International students, work-visa holders, refugees, asylees, and other residents would be dropped from the apportionment count for the first time.
How the count would shrink →Public comment closes Nov 2, 2026
Hands offour census
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 November 2.
What they want to change
From the proposed rule published Sept 10, 2026 (Docket No. 260903-0005).
Change 02
People counted in the wrong place
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
No race or ethnicity data
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 →Questions about the rule, the comment period, or this campaign? Read the FAQs →
One count every ten years decides who gets represented, and who gets resourced.
Seats in Congress and district lines, but also schools, roads, hospitals, disaster response, public health, and business planning. Nearly every part of public life depends on the census.
Read the full explainer →Hands Off Our Census is a pop-up consortium that provides nonpartisan resources, analyses, and updates on the proposed census rule, bringing together organizations and experts across the census, data, and data policy communities.
Partners include: these links open in a new tab.
