The Census Bureau proposes removing questions about solar panels and veterans' period of military service from the American Community Survey in 2028. To ensure consideration, comments on the proposed revision to the survey and its Puerto Rico counterpart must be received by January 4, 2027.
The bureau also intends to expand its use of administrative data as early as 2028, which could let it skip some other questions for certain respondents. The notice is a request for comment before the information collection is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval.
The proposed changes
The bureau says its 2026 content review identified the solar panels and veterans period of military service questions as no longer having a mandatory or required federal use. It proposes removing both from the survey in 2028; the notice does not announce that they have already been removed.
The agency also names agricultural sales, year built, number of rooms, number of bedrooms, units in structure, building type and home heating fuel as questions that may be skipped for some respondents when administrative data are available. It says other questions may also be considered and that it will publish research results on the methods on its website.
The notice describes an existing example: since January 2024, the survey has skipped its property acreage question at sampled addresses when purchased property-tax data are available and meet the bureau's business rules. Otherwise, it asks the question.
Who is counted
According to the notice, the survey samples approximately 3.54 million housing-unit addresses in the United States and about 36,000 in Puerto Rico each year. It also samples residents of group quarters, such as student housing, skilled nursing facilities and correctional facilities.
The bureau says the survey provides information on more than 40 topics and helps inform the distribution of federal funds. The proposed revision does not itself establish how any particular allocation would change.
How to comment
The notice invites comments in particular on the two proposed removals and the use of administrative data. Comments may be sent by email or through the federal rulemaking portal using docket USBC-2026-0760; the source notice gives the instructions. It warns that comments generally will be posted without change and may include personal information supplied by the commenter.