U.S. Census Bureau releases easier-to-use format of 2020 census data on Sept. 16


The U.S. Census Bureau released data from the 2020 census in an easier-to-use format to both the states and the public at data.census.gov on Sept. 16. The Census Bureau also delivered DVDs and flash drives of the data to state legislatures and redistricting authorities. It had previously announced that it would release this summary data by Sept. 30.

The data itself had already been released in a legacy format on Aug. 12, including demographic information for states, counties, and individual census tracts and blocks.

States have used the data to start redrawing congressional and state legislative district boundaries to reflect the results of the 2020 census.

The Census Bureau was originally scheduled to deliver redistricting data to the states by March 30, but the process was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sixteen states have constitutional deadlines requiring that they complete their legislative redistricting this year, and eight have such deadlines to complete their congressional redistricting.

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