Murphy – Cherokee County is among a handful of western North Carolina counties that will participate in a 2026 test census.
The U.S. Census Bureau said it is focusing on “improving the count of hard-to-count and historically undercounted populations.”
Cherokee, Graham, Jackson and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary are included in one of six areas around the nation that the bureau will focus on during the test, which starts April 1.
“These locations provide optimal opportunities for us to implement all the changes and enhancements we have planned for the test, under real conditions and on a larger scale than research simulations allow,” said U.S. Census Bureau Decennial Census Management Division Deputy Chief Daniel Doyle. “Together, these sites will enable us to test the improvements we’re designing in our efforts to get a complete count of historically undercounted and hard-to-count populations.”
Other locations participating are metro areas surrounding Spartanburg, S.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; the Fort Apache and San Carlos reservations in Arizona; and Brewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos and Presidio counties in Texas.
Criteria for selecting the locations was stringent, according to Census Bureau. They include:
- A high percentage of historically undercounted populations.
- Historically low response rates.
- Tribal areas.
- Rural areas.
- Limited internet/cell phone service.
- A high percentage of households that don’t receive mail at their physical address.
- Seasonal housing.
- A high number of multi-unit structures and/or hidden units in urban areas.
- Significant housing growth.
- Universities, correctional facilities, military housing and other types of group quarters.
“It’s important to note that no one location covers all the requirements of this test,” Doyle said. “It’s the combination that’s powerful. As a group, they will enable us to meet all the testing
objectives, while also meeting available budget, systems and other resource constraints.”
The bureau hopes to improve upon response rates and data collection before the 2030 census. It is unclear when the second test census will be held.
The 2026 test is expected to conclude by the end of summer. The bureau added that because it is a trial run, no data will be published.
The Cherokee Scout contributed to this report.