Decennial Census of Population and Housing Disclosure Avoidance
The confidentiality protections we call “disclosure avoidance” have evolved over time to keep pace with emerging threats. Since the 1990 Census we’ve added “noise”—or small, random changes—to the collected data.
Learn more about why and how we’re modernizing our protections and how you can engage in the process.
Continue to check this webpage for the newest information and resources about our disclosure avoidance planning.
2030
Overview
The Census Bureau is establishing a robust research agenda to identify improvements to our disclosure avoidance methods for the 2030 Census.
We are evaluating disclosure avoidance approaches based on how well they address a set of universal principles that focus on system efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility. This process includes ongoing research, testing, and stakeholder feedback.
The Census Bureau’s data stewardship committee, comprised of career executives, will choose the final system design. This committee is also responsible for selecting the balance in tradeoffs between statistical accuracy, data availability, and confidentiality.
We will apply the final design to the 2028 Dress Rehearsal data. Those published results will give data users a preview of the final system’s anticipated impact on resulting statistics.
Planning and Development
Timeline
Key Resources
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Working PaperTowards a Principled Framework for Disclosure AvoidanceThis paper proposes a framework of principles for evaluating the strengths and limitations of different applied disclosure avoidance systems, distinguishing those principles from the implementation questions that often complicate these types of discussions.
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2030 Census Research Project ExplorerLearn about 2030 Census disclosure avoidance research and explore topics of interest.
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Research Matters BlogAnnouncing the 2030 Census Disclosure Avoidance Research ProgramThis blog highlights research objectives and the timeline for selecting, designing and implementing the 2030 Census Disclosure Avoidance System.
Webinars and Presentations
Save the Date: June 23 Webinar on 2030 Census Disclosure Avoidance System Research Plans
Join us on Monday, June 23, for a webinar covering disclosure avoidance research plans for the 2030 Census. The research focuses on designing and improving the statistical safeguards we'll use to protect the confidentiality of the public's census responses in the published data products.
Stay Informed
Sign Up for Email Updates
Subscribe to the Decennial Census Data Products newsletter for the latest updates on disclosure avoidance developments.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions regarding disclosure avoidance for the 2030 Census, email us at 2030DAS@census.gov.