The Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS) is a national survey by the U.S. Census Bureau (Census). The purpose of the survey is to collect information on topics such as food and nutrition, transportation, employment, and education and to gather data that can be used to improve and inform future surveys. The survey sample consists of individuals and households living across the United States.
Your participation will help federal and state officials direct aid, assistance, and support to the people and places that need it most. This survey provides information that cannot be collected elsewhere. Your response is key.
Your address was randomly selected to participate. In order for the HTOPS to be successful, it is important to have participants that represent the nation as a whole. Your household was contacted to see if someone who lives there may be eligible to participate in the HTOPS.
If you received letter requesting you to participate in the survey, a Census Bureau employee may contact you to remind you to complete the survey and answer any questions you may have. You can also verify the legitimacy of a letter or phone call from the Census Bureau by visiting:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/surveyhelp/verify-a-survey.html
Although this is a voluntary survey, your participation is essential to ensure the results are comprehensive, accurate, and timely.
By law, the Census Bureau is required to keep your answers confidential. All information to be collected is protected under the confidentiality provisions of Title 13 U.S.C.
Your privacy is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. Section 552a). There are a limited number of uses of your data that are permitted under the Privacy Act. You can find a list of these uses in the System of Records Notice (SORN). For this survey, the SORNs are named: COMMERCE/Census -3, Demographic Survey Collection (Census Bureau Sampling Frame) and COMMERCE/CENSUS-5, Decennial Census Programs. All survey responses will be combined with the answers of many others and reported in a summary form. Our interest is only in the combination of all responses and not anyone’s individual answers. Your name and any other identifying information will never be associated with the answers you provide on surveys. This information is only collected for contact purposes so that we may send you invitations to future surveys.
This collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB control number is 0607-1029 and the approval expiration date for the collection is 09/30/2028. We are required to display this number to conduct this survey.
We estimate that completing this survey will take an average of 20 minutes. Send comments regarding this estimate or any other aspect of this survey, including suggestions for reducing the time it takes to complete this survey, to [email protected].
The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this study under the authority of 13 U.S.C. Sections 131, 141, 182, 193, and 196.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved this survey. The OMB control number is 0607-1029 and the approval expiration date for the collection is 09/30/2028.
If you have been selected to participate in the HTOPS, you will receive a letter in the mail with a link to complete the survey online. If we have not received a response from you, you may receive up to 2 follow-up reminders. Only those whose addresses have been selected can complete the survey. A limited number of addresses across the country have been invited to answer the HTOPS.
All information that you provide is used only to create accurate and relevant statistics about the nation’s people, places, and economy. These statistics help inform officials and policymakers about communities and individuals across the United States.
The U.S. Census Bureau is the primary sponsor of the HTOPS. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this study under the authority of 13 U.S.C. Sections 141, 182, and 193. Other federal agencies may contribute funding and sponsor surveys for the HTOPS.
Please contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1334 if you have any questions about the survey. The HTOPS Team is available Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). At any other time, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. We are also available to answer your questions via e-mail at [email protected].
If you have comments or concerns about the survey content, the status of your survey responses or suggestions for improving this collection, please e-mail [email protected].